As the Trump administration pushes Congress to delay the implementation of a ban on intoxicating hemp products, new reporting reveals that the delay could directly benefit the son-in-law of President Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff, Susie Wiles.
According to the latest reporting from the New York Times, “Under pressure from the administration, senators tucked the delay into a stopgap spending measure they are working to pass this week in an effort to head off a government shutdown at the end of September. The proposal has touched off an internal fight in Congress, with some senators balking at the idea of rolling back restrictions meant to address a public health risk, and could derail an agreement to quickly approve the spending bill. But its inclusion in the bill reflects the success of a hemp industry influence campaign to avoid new regulations.”
Among the leaders of that campaign is Bret Worley, who recently married Wiles’ daughter at the Trump Winery in Charlottesville, VA. Worley is the CEO of a number of companies that distribute and sell intoxicating-hemp-derived gummies and vapes. While White House spokesman Kush Desai argued in a statement that Worley and the influence campaign had nothing to do with Trump’s willingness to relax drug regulations, Kevin Sabet, who worked on drug policy under Republican and Democratic presidents, told the New York Times that the White House’s support for delaying the restrictions was an example of a “pay-to-play drug policy” in which decisions “are a result of lobbying, not of the evidence.”
According to the Times, “Intoxicating hemp, which is less regulated than marijuana and alcohol, has gained popularity in recent years as a pain reliever and an alternative to other intoxicants. While hemp is sometimes referred to as ‘weed light,’ the Food and Drug Administration has warned of potential adverse effects, including difficulty breathing and coma. The restrictions in question, which are set to take effect on Nov. 12, would target intoxicating hemp products containing threshold amounts of T.H.C., the main psychoactive compound in cannabis. That would effectively outlaw a multibillion-dollar industry of beverages, gummies, cookies and vapes that are sold in gas stations, vape shops and convenience stores that are not regulated like cannabis dispensaries.”
If the spending bill moving through the Senate is approved, the included delay would hold the ban until December 11. The White House argues the delay is essential to “ensure the fair treatment of hemp products,” and Wiles herself has visited Congress to push lawmakers to adopt the bill, though Desai insists she “has never lobbied in favor of this or any other position on hemp with Capitol Hill.”
“But,” notes the Times, “when senators announced a bipartisan spending agreement on Sunday that would keep the government funded through Dec. 11, the delay in enacting restrictions on intoxicating hemp products was one of the few extraneous items included.” While Worley did not respond to a request for comment, “the industry celebrated the provision as a step toward permanent legalization.” One of Worley’s company’s for example, boasted of having a “seat at the table,” declaring in an email to clients that “industries that get inside that machinery get renewed.”
A number of Senators, however, have expressed concern about the provision, and Senator Ted Budd (R-NC) announced on Monday that he will introduce an amendment to remove it. He said in a statement that he had “made it clear to the White House and my colleagues in the Senate that any action to delay” the restrictions “will endanger both the wellness and safety of Americans.”
By Wednesday, the number of Republican senators opposing the provision had grown to eight, though as the Times notes, one “influential proponent” of the ban, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY), is absent from Congress, hospitalized amid swirling health rumors.