Story perspectives

Oz, AGs Urge Senate to Reject Hemp Delay Amendment

8/8/2026

Summary

Story summary

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz urged the Senate to reject Senate Amendment 6733 to H.R. 6500.
The amendment would strip language delaying most hemp restrictions from November 12 to December 11, keeping the ban on schedule.
A bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, urged Congress to reject the delay, saying it preserves a “hemp loophole.”

History

Historical Context

After hemp production collapsed in the 1950s, a mid-1990s resurgence led to the 2014 pilot program and, in April 2018, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s Hemp Farming Act was folded into the Agriculture Improvement Act signed by President Donald Trump on Dec 20, 2018, descheduling low-THC cannabis and earmarking $1.5 billion for USDA hemp programs. Senator Mehmet Oz’s effort to block Senate Amendment 6733 now threatens to revive the pre-2018 ban.

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Story summary

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz urged the Senate to reject Senate Amendment 6733 to H.R. 6500.
The amendment would strip language delaying most hemp restrictions from November 12 to December 11, keeping the ban on schedule.
A bipartisan coalition of 35 state attorneys general, led by Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, urged Congress to reject the delay, saying it preserves a “hemp loophole.”

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