Fresh out of the longest government shutdown in US history, and with millions of workers already waist-deep in the coming recession, lawmakers rolled up their sleeves and got to work — on hemp.

Yep, you read that right. Hidden in the recently passed Senate funding bill is a surprise provision that’s set to ban almost all hemp products from the consumer market.

Legally, hemp is defined as cannabis with 0.3 percent or less THC content by dry weight. Anything higher is classified as marijuana, which is regulated by individual US states. Hemp, on the other hand, has been something of a free-for-all, after the 2018 Agriculture Improvement Act legalized THC products derived from the low-potency substance.

According to a Senate Appropriations Committee summary, the new provision “prevents the

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