Rep. Andy Harris is at it again, reviving his crusade to dismantle the hemp industry by quietly inserting harmful language into a federal spending bill. Buried on page 113 of the FY2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill is a provision that redefines hemp in a way that could ban the vast majority of safe, legal hemp-derived products sold nationwide – any product with any “quantifiable” level of THC. This language mirrors last year’s failed “Mary Miller Amendment.” In its press release, the committee states that the bill “closes the loophole that allows intoxicating hemp products to be sold,” signaling a direct attack on a lawful, federally regulated industry. 

This isn’t Harris’s first attempt. In 2023, he spearheaded efforts to include similar language in the FY2025 Agriculture Appropriations bill, but the measure was ultimately defeated after widespread industry opposition and a national outcry.

That said, it’s not time to panic. This appropriations bill has not passed in the last several Congresses. However, we must stop this backdoor ban before it gains traction.