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mysteryowl

(7,787 posts)
Tue Nov 11, 2025, 01:23 PM Tuesday

Part of new, bad, Senate deal is to ban THC nationally!

Senators shot down an attempt by Sen. Rand Paul to eliminate language in their shutdown-ending deal that the Kentucky Republican argues will destroy the booming hemp industry.

The amendment was blocked on a 76-24 vote with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Paul as the lone GOP senators in favor of proceeding, along with 22 Democrats.

The vote comes after Paul’s monthslong fight with senior appropriators Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) over a provision that would crack down on intoxicating hemp products that were legalized through the 2018 farm bill.

The amendment’s failure clears the path for lawmakers to vote on final passage of a funding package that moves Congress closer to ending the record-breaking government shutdown. Paul told reporters that his amendment wasn’t designed to “hold things up,” but to protect the hemp business that’s blossomed in Kentucky since 2018.

“My goal is to condense the time, have one vote, express my displeasure with them screwing up an entire industry, and people will feel ... there’s at least been somebody fighting,” Paul said.

The vote also marked the first time in years that senators were forced to take a public stance on how the government should regulate THC and hemp products.




https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/11/10/congress/senators-reject-pauls-hemp-plans-00646064

Will congress stop this? I hope so.

9 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Part of new, bad, Senate deal is to ban THC nationally! (Original Post) mysteryowl Tuesday OP
Have fun with that in CA. maveric Tuesday #1
And a number of... 2naSalit Tuesday #2
It's a false title, see post 3. Celerity Tuesday #5
It's a false title, see post 3. Celerity Tuesday #4
False clickbait title. It doesn't 'ban THC nationally'. Celerity Tuesday #3
Synthetic Cannabinoids are called Kratom maxsolomon Tuesday #6
Not kratom mr715 Tuesday #7
My point was that the marijuana (which has THC) industry is in favour of this hemp regulation. This legislation does not Celerity Tuesday #8
I stand corrected. maxsolomon Tuesday #9

Celerity

(53,014 posts)
3. False clickbait title. It doesn't 'ban THC nationally'.
Tue Nov 11, 2025, 03:59 PM
Tuesday
Other industry groups representing alcohol and marijuana products have encouraged lawmakers to crack down on hemp, as have dozens of state officials who have warned about the proliferation of synthetic cannabinoids sold in gas stations and convenience stores and marketed toward children. Kentucky and other hemp-producing states have since scrambled to introduce their own regulatory frameworks.

mr715

(2,267 posts)
7. Not kratom
Tue Nov 11, 2025, 04:09 PM
Tuesday

Kratom is a natural product. It is a weird drug that acts on a lot of different receptors, but to my knowledge does not have THC binding like effects.

There are synthetic cannabinoids out there, I want to say delta 7 or some such.

Edit -- Kratom has some interesting binding. Seems to, at low doses, exert effects on dopamine and serotonin systems, and at high doses it hits opioid receptors. Since it hits kappa and not just mu opioid receptors, I'd wager it isn't as fun as the usual pain killer stuff.

Celerity

(53,014 posts)
8. My point was that the marijuana (which has THC) industry is in favour of this hemp regulation. This legislation does not
Tue Nov 11, 2025, 04:40 PM
Tuesday

(as the OP claimed) ban THC nationally. The title is patently misleading, as judged by the first 2 replies by people who think the ban applies to marijuana.

Also, Kratom is a plant, and does not equal 'Synthetic Cannabinoids', which come from the Cannabis plant or are entirely lab created.

Kratom naturally has a very tiny amount (0.1%) of 7-hydroxymitragynine (7-OH, a terpenoid indole alkaloid), which is synthesized in labs as it is up to 50 times stronger than natural Kratom powder.

See this:

https://news.cuanschutz.edu/news-stories/what-is-7-oh-and-why-is-it-being-targeted-in-kratom-products

A compound that makes up a tiny portion of the kratom leaf has generated concern in recent years, as herbal products derived from the leaf but synthesized in labs to market more potent versions have contributed to calls to poison centers and high profile deaths.

In May, Colorado's governor signed the Daniel Bregger Act into law, named after a young man who died from a toxic combination of a highly-concentrated product of the active psychoactive ingredient found in kratom and a common allergy drug. Among other things, the act limits the concentration in kratom products of 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a highly potent compound that makes up less than 0.1% of the natural kratom leaf. This guardrail comes after a surge of these high-potency products being sold in convenience stores and smoke shops across the state.

“Because it is such a rare constituent part of the kratom leaf, it is being semi-synthetically derived in a lab before being added to kratom products,” said David Kroll, PhD, professor and director of the Master’s Degree and Certificate programs at the CU Anschutz Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. “And 7-OH is five to 50 times more potent than the normal kratom powder used in capsule or tea form, resulting in a much higher likelihood of overuse and abuse.”

What is kratom?

The leaves from a tree native to Southeast Asia, kratom is an herbal medicine with effects similar to opioids. It is most often found as a powder in the United States, in capsule or tea form and more recently, concentrated extracts.

snip

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