Congress must immediately stop the backdoor hemp ban in the budget deal. This destructive provision threatens to wipe out the legal, $28 billion hemp industry built by American farmers and small businesses. We don’t need more prohibition; we need jobs and common sense regulations.
This ban will criminalize hemp-derived products overnight, costing countless jobs and forcing small farmers to destroy their crops. It will also push veterans and others who rely on legal hemp for pain relief back into dangerous, criminalized markets. This is not regulation; it’s a gift to corporate giants who seek to control a market they didn’t build.
Legal cannabis programs in numerous states have already proven that regulation reduces harm, increases safety, and generates billions for roads, schools, and essential services. Prohibition only increases arrests and deepens racial disparities that states have worked to undo.
Congress has the power to reverse this disaster. They must vote to stop the ban and finally legalize and regulate cannabis nationwide to stabilize markets, protect consumers, and build a system rooted in justice and public safety.
Peggy Van Sickle
Brighton
