Paul Ellertson, Online publishing Coordinator

With the governmental funding package being passed, ending the government shutdown, the legality of cannabis and the cannabis industry is on the line. This could result in mass layoffs in a 28 billion dollar industry. To put that into perspective, that’s about 300,000 jobs. The origins of legalized cannabis came semi-recently in the 2018 Farm Bill; however, the law’s definition is very broad and open to interpretation, which created a bunch of loopholes that led to companies flooding the markets with vapes, gummies and other cannabis-related products, according to CNBC News. 

The government shutdown overall was the longest shutdown in U.S. history so far. The consequences of the law ending the shutdown are far from over. With hemp on the line, even senators like Kentucky’s Republican Rand Paul are starting to compare possible hemp restrictions to that of the prohibition period of the 1920s, according to USAToday. This was a period when drugs and alcohol, for the most part, were banned in the U.S., which increased crime such as bootlegging and other gang-related activities.

All hemp products that contain THC will likely be banned. The 2018 Farm Bill is being almost completely rolled back. The 2018 Farm Bill stated that hemp can be grown as long as it doesn’t have a THC concentration of over 0.3%. As long as those guidelines are met, hemp will not be excluded from the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), according to CONGRESS.GOV.  

Minnesota’s legal hemp industry says it is ready to fight back with lawsuits. Edibles and drinks will no longer be allowed to have more than 0.4 milligrams of THC per container. The standard amount of THC in Minnesota is 5 milligrams per serving, according to MPR News. 

Small business owners like the owner of Granny’s Edibles, Thomas Thorpe, are stunned. Thorpe was about to expand his small business to other states, like Florida. Those plans have now stalled. “As a small, bootstrapped company with no investors other than just building this with my friends and family, I know that a lot of those conversations have shifted in both energy and dynamics,” he said in an interview with MPR News.  

 People remain optimistic that the law won’t turn out to be as restrictive, as there is a lot of focus on fighting the bill between now and when it goes into effect November, 2026, according to MPR News.
Those who support this new law say they are tired of companies exploiting the loopholes. “Hemp has also brought billions of dollars in revenue to Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Department of Revenue,” according to CBS News. While some Minnesota producers might not be hit as hard due to Minnesota’s other existing cannabis laws, the majority of producers inside and outside the state would be hit hard financially, according to CBS News.