Kentucky Hemp Farmers Urge McConnell to Drop Hemp Restrictions

23 September 2025

Dozens of Kentucky hemp farmers are urging Senator Mitch McConnell not to revive legislation that could restrict hemp-derived cannabinoids. In a letter signed by 58 farmers from 20 counties, the group asked McConnell to meet with them directly and warned of “immediate and catastrophic consequences” if their core markets are eliminated.

The dispute centers on language McConnell added to an agriculture spending bill in July, directing the Food and Drug Administration to set a measurable THC limit in hemp-derived products. Although McConnell argued the measure was aimed at curbing intoxicating products such as Delta-8 THC, critics said it risked sweeping up widely used CBD products that naturally contain trace amounts of THC. Senator Rand Paul successfully struck the language before the bill advanced, calling it a prohibitionist push that would “completely destroy the American hemp industry.”

McConnell’s office has defended the proposal, saying it would maintain the legality of hemp and CBD products with no THC. Farmers and state officials argue that such a standard is unrealistic and would ban much of the market. Kentucky Agriculture Commissioner Jonathan Shell warned the proposal could criminalize non-intoxicating CBD products already regulated by the state.

The stakes are high for Kentucky, where hemp cultivation was legalized in 2018 and now supports farms across 20 counties. Nearly 70 percent of hemp grown nationwide is for cannabinoids, feeding into a market valued at $28.4 billion. Farmers are worried that sudden restrictions could devastate rural communities that depend on hemp for income and jobs.

Kentucky has already implemented regulations for hemp-derived products, including beverages and Delta-8 THC, and farmers argue that building on those rules is the best path forward. “Banning legal hemp products that are already regulated at the state level will not protect consumers, it will empower the illicit market and destroy American farm income in the process,” the farmers wrote.

As Congress faces a September 30 deadline to pass a short-term spending bill and avoid a government shutdown, hemp farmers remain watchful for any renewed attempt by McConnell to reinsert his proposal. For them, the outcome could determine the future of hemp cultivation in Kentucky and across the country.