A deal to end the 41-day government shutdown is running into turbulence, thanks to a single Senate objection: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they need to resolve Paul’s objection to a provision in the government funding package before they can accelerate consideration of the bill. The provision would restrict the unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based products.
  • MimicJar@lemmy.world
    872·
    24 days ago

    Paul will cave and allow this to pass, this is what he does almost every time.

    That being said, I hope he doesn’t. If Congress wants to increase regulation for hemp derived THC (also called Delta 8 THC) then put together a separate bill and run it through the process.

    That won’t happen because Congress doesn’t actually pass bills anymore. They just lump everything together and slap “must pass” on it.

    Also this quote is fun,

    Manufacturers of beverage alcohol, one of the most highly regulated consumer products, urge the Senate to reject Sen. Paul’s attempts to allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and oversight across the country

    This type of THC has been available for several years with minimal regulation and the US has been just fine.

    Edit: Reading articles is difficult. At the time of the article posting (~2pm Monday) Paul hadn’t “caved”. At the time of my comment (Tuesday) he already had.

    The Sunday vote was cloture, aka we’re done debating.

    The Senate had already taken a major first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday night, voting to end debate on a motion to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution. But procedural rules require 30 hours of “post-cloture” debate before senators can vote to proceed, followed by four more votes to pass the full funding package.

    The Monday vote happened around 8pm, since that was less than 30 hours later there must have been another vote to skip the 30 hour timer.

    Given the timing Paul, at best, delayed the vote by 6 hours.

    • bobaworld@lemmy.world
      3·
      24 days ago

      There seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread about hemp derived THC and delta-8 THC. Delta-8 THC is an unregulated cannabinoid that can be made by converting CBD through a chemical process. But hemp also contains Delta-9 THC, which is the same thing that would come in the recreational or medical cannabis you’d get in a legal state. The limitation is that the products are only allowed to contain up to 0.3% Delta-9 THC by volume. The funny workaround here is that products like edibles and drinks can easily still contain a recreational dose of Delta-9 THC while staying well below 0.3% THC by volume. This has created a legal market for THC products and I’ve actually really enjoyed it, living in a state that still does not have any form of medical or recreational cannabis available.

      • MimicJar@lemmy.world
        1·
        24 days ago

        So I’m less familiar with Delta 9 THC, but my understanding is that both Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC are able to be derived/extracted from hemp. If I’m understanding you correctly, it’s a different process for each, but the end result is still that we get one and/or the other.

        Additionally both of them have the same restrictions as you mentioned, being less then 0.3% THC by volume, which makes them excellent candidates for edibles and beverages.

        I think Delta 9 THC is closer to “traditional” THC, which matches with what you’ve said.

        Living in a state that does have recreational cannabis, I was surprised when I first saw Delta 8 THC products sold alongside alcoholic beverages.

        So while technically this law change won’t affect me much, I’ve certainly appreciated the destigmatization of “THC” at a federal level.

        • bobaworld@lemmy.world
          2·
          24 days ago

          Delta-9 THC IS what people just called “THC” forever. It’s the very same compound that’s found in your recreational or medical cannabis products. It can be extracted from hemp naturally. The distinction in naming conventions is a more recent thing due to the prevalence of Delta-8 THC products.