"The production lines at Indeed Brewing moved quickly, the cans filling not with beer, but with THC-infused seltzer. The product, which features the compound that gets cannabis users high, has been a lifeline at Indeed and other craft breweries as alcohol sales have fallen in recent years. But that boom looks set to come to a crashing halt. Buried in the bill that ended the federal government shutdown this month was a provision to ban those drinks,"
"Low-THC hemp is grown for its sturdy fibers, food or wellness products. 'Rope, not dope' was long the motto of farmers who supported legalizing hemp. After states began legalizing marijuana for adult use over a decade ago, hemp advocates saw an opening at the federal level. As part of the 2018 farm bill, Congress legalized the cultivation of industrial hemp to give farmers, including in Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell's home state of Kentucky, a new cash crop."
Industrial hemp and marijuana are the same species; marijuana is cultivated for high flower THC while hemp is grown for low-THC fibers, food and wellness products. The 2018 farm bill legalized hemp under a delta-9 THC threshold of 0.3 percent, creating a loophole that allowed products to contain impairing amounts of THC or chemically altered THC-like compounds derived from CBD. Hemp-derived THC beverages and snacks proliferated, creating a $24 billion industry and alternative product lines for craft breweries. A recent congressional provision buried in a funding bill would ban impairing hemp-derived foods and drinks, with the ban slated to take effect in November 2026, prompting industry efforts to avert the change.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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