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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsPart 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 Pauls 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 amendments 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 wasnt designed to hold things up, but to protect the hemp business thats 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 ... theres 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.
maveric
(16,967 posts)2naSalit
(98,843 posts)Other states, like nearly 30 of them.
Celerity
(53,014 posts)Celerity
(53,014 posts)Celerity
(53,014 posts)maxsolomon
(37,807 posts)They're BS.
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)(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 Masters 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.
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maxsolomon
(37,807 posts)Thanks for the info