Kentucky's two U.S. senators are once again at odds.

This time, it's not about spending or foreign policy.

It's all about hemp.

Our Toby Gibbs explains the United States.

In 2018, Senator Mitch McConnell championed a farm bill that legalized hemp and its derivatives, including CBD.

That move opened the door to an explosion of hemp based products now sold across the US.

Jonathan Miller is with the U.S. Hemp Roundtable, a Kentucky based advocacy group.

So the 28 farm 2018 farm bill, legalized hemp, for the first time in many decades.

And it specifically legalized hemp derivatives, extracts and cannabinoids.

And these are three terms that, applied at the time to CBD.

Because there was a clear congressional intent that we needed to, not only legalize hemp for industrial purposes, but also for, CBD extracts and the like.

But Senator McConnell says what started as a way to give Kentucky farmers access to a new cash crop has morphed into something unintended.

Some companies are now using that law to create in toxic hemp products, including gummies and drinks with federally legal levels of THC.

A nefarious part of that industry took advantage of that law and essentially are making super psychoactive and deadly in some cases, substances, that are extremely dangerous.

Kevin Sabet is with smart approaches to Marijuana, which describes itself as opposed to the commercialization and normalization of marijuana, unquote.

He says those products, especially ones containing Delta eight THC, have been linked to health problems and even death.

Delta eight is what we call this synthetic marijuana, because normal marijuana, whose THC is the active ingredient, that's delta nine THC.

So this is a synthetic, that's done, you know, by manipulating the plant done in the lab, and it's Delta eight.

That's why Senator McConnell is now pushing for new language in a Senate Agriculture appropriations bill that would ban any ingestible hemp products with quantified viable levels of THC.

Critics say the move would go too far, if it were to pass, that 90 to 95% of all hemp products would be banned, including, non intoxicating CBD products.

Enter Kentucky's other US senator Rand Paul, who opposes the proposed ban.

And he reportedly threatened to delay voting on the entire appropriations bill unless the hemp language is removed.

He is certainly a champion of the industry.

In addition, four of our members of Congress, have signed on to a letter, to Speaker Johnson urging him to remove the same language that is found in the House version of the appropriations bill.

Miller and others in the industry say the answer isn't a ban, but rather stronger regulation.

He points to Kentucky's own laws as a model.

Senate Bill 202, which was passed during the 2025 Kentucky General Assembly, sets limits on intoxicating ingredients and directs the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, or ABC, to regulate the growing industry of hemp infused beverages.

And Kentucky does what the industry favors, which is keep these products out of the hands of kids, have meaningful age restrictions, ensure that good manufacturing practices are used in creating these products, and, ensure that labeling is transparent, and and allows for consumers to know what they're buying.

But Sabet says it's not just about rules, but about risks.

And those, he argues, are too high.

I get that people are trying to make a living, I understand that, but we've got to put public health and people's lives over private profit.

This issue is top of mind for Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Schell.

He says he agrees more needs to be done to protect the public from some of these products, but says he also wants to protect Kentucky's hemp farmers.

What we're working towards is how do we actively work with our federal delegation to bring clarity and security to what we consider to be a gold standard industry in the state of Kentucky nationally, which is our hemp industry?

We were one of the first, if not the first state to really adopt this.

We've created gold standards here in the state, but there are some gray areas that are around this.

We have a vibrant and thriving hemp industry that needs to continue, but we also recognize that there are some bad actors and some players out there that have taken advantage of some of the things that have been passed in the past.

Two very different views on how to protect health and jobs.

In a state where hemp is now a budding industry.

For Kentucky Edition, I'm Toby Gibbs.

Politico is reporting senators have agreed to remove language banning hemp products from the agriculture funding bill.

It's unclear if the changes enough to allow lawmakers to vote on the bill before the August recess.