Klobuchar, Senate make midnight move to end hemp ban

Christopher Vondracek, The Minnesota Star Tribune on Aug 8, 2026

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

In the early morning hours of Saturday, the U.S. Senate passed a budget with a provision, led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar, to temporarily delay a nationwide hemp ban that has alarmed Minnesota’s booming industry of home-grown hemp products and THC seltzers.

The bill still needs House approval in the fall to become law and thwart a government shutdown at the end of September. But the measure — including a one-month delay on a hemp ban the industry says will be devastating — suggests momentum is growing to permanently overturn the prohibition.

“Minnesota hemp producers deserve certainty,” Klobuchar said in a video posted on Saturday to social media. “The delay will give Congress more time to get a long-term fix.”

Under current law, a nationwide restriction on hemp products, including popular hemp-derived THC products, such as beverages, goes into effect on Nov. 12, just more than a week after the midterm elections. The ban was originally attached to a funding bill to end a government shutdown last fall.

Hemp critics, including North Carolina Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican who brought an amendment to remove Klobuchar’s hemp ban delay from the continuing resolution, have argued the so-called hemp loophole exposes the public, including children, to an intoxicating substance without any regulation.

But supporters, including breweries, hemp farmers and processers in Minnesota’s growing $200 million-a-year industry, have argued against a ban and called for greater federal oversight and consistent regulations on their products.

“(A ban) would be catastrophic,” said Kyle Marinkovich, founder and CEO of Burnsville-based Northern Diversified Solutions, in an interview last month. “We’re already feeling the significant impacts (of the pending ban) to our business.”

A fight over the hemp ban delay nearly scuttled a budget deal on Capitol Hill last week, but Budd’s amendment was killed in a 61-32 vote early Saturday.

Klobuchar said in an interview on Saturday that the bipartisan legislation also includes underlying “safety rules,” such as a ban on synthetic hemp.

Sen. Tim Sheehy, Republican of Montana, is the co-sponsor of the language.

Klobuchar gave a floor speech in the middle of the night and worked to secure enough votes across the aisle to kill Budd’s amendment.

The bill has grown more popular with Republicans given supportive signals from the White House.

Last week, Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, wrote a letter to senators saying passage of Budd’s amendment would “undo significant gains” the agency had made toward clinical approvals for hemp-derived CBD products for senior citizens and individuals with disabilities relying on Medicare.

Ultimately, the Senate passed the continuing resolution on a 90-6 vote. The House returns from a month-long recess on Aug. 31 and will then be able to take up the measure. The Senate also returns to Capitol Hill in September.