Adam JacksonThe hemp industry will again lobby for its survival at a congressional hearing Wednesday – asking for more federal regulation as it struggles with a price collapse and a flood of questionable products in the marketplace.
The hearing, titled “Restoring Trust in FDA: Rooting Out Illicit Products,” comes as newly confirmed U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Marty Makary begins his tenure under the Trump administration’s second term. Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, is expected to tell the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform that FDA inaction has crippled an industry that Congress explicitly legalized in the 2018 Farm Bill.
This isn’t Miller’s first time asking Congress to address the issue. He testified two years ago before a subcommittee of the same panel.
“Legislation is necessary to protect consumers, help stabilize hemp markets, open up a promising economic opportunity for U.S. Agriculture and honor the commitment made to growers,” in the original Farm Bill, Miller said in previous testimony to lawmakers.
Miller plans to reiterate that the FDA created regulatory uncertainty by initially claiming authority to regulate CBD products, then stalling for years before announcing that it couldn’t regulate them under existing frameworks.
The regulatory vacuum has had severe consequences, industry stakeholders have said, including within statehouses across the country lately. Miller noted that hemp CBD prices have plummeted more than 90% since the Farm Bill’s passage, with the only exception being hemp flower used to produce Delta-8 THC, a psychoactive cannabinoid that exists in a regulatory gray area.
The hearing will feature testimony from five experts, including Miller and former FDA Commissioner Dr. David Kessler. Other witnesses include Guy Bentley from the Reason Foundation, Richard Williams from the Mercatus Center, and Shabbir Imber Safdar from The Partnership for Safe Medicines, according to the committee’s news release.
Rep. James Comer, a Republican out of Kentucky, who chairs the committee, said the hearing would address “accelerating the approval of effective, innovative products, preventing illicit and counterfeit goods from entering the U.S., and ensuring a safe and healthy food supply.”
Miller is expected to advocate for bipartisan legislation in Congress that would provide regulatory pathways for hemp-derived CBD in foods, beverages and dietary supplements.
The industry has widely contended for a while now that without federal regulation, a patchwork of inconsistent state laws will continue to take shape, and many unregulated hemp products will proliferate without proper safety testing or age gating.
“These products serve as a lifeline to U.S. farmers and when manufactured properly, can be of considerable value to adult consumers,” Miller previously testified. “We oppose their ban or criminalization, but they need to be strictly regulated for safety and kept out of the hands of children.”
The hearing will be livestreamed at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday from room HVC-210 of the Capitol.
