The Baird Bill and How You Can Help Save the Hemp Industry

BACKGROUND

As most everyone in the hemp industry knows, Congress passed a law in November 2025 that will kill the industry when it takes effect in November of this year. (For more information about the hemp-killing law, click here, here, here, and here.)

The hemp-killing provisions are contained in a federal funding bill, known as a “Continuing Resolution” (or “CR” for short.) The anti-hemp provisions were inserted into the CR by special interest groups at the last minute when mounting pressure to pass a spending law became too great for a majority of Congress members to vote against it, regardless of how it treated hemp.

We know that many members of Congress are opposed to the hemp-killing provisions. Senator Rand Paul, House member Nancy Mace, and Senator Ron Wyden have been the most vocal in their opposition, but many other lawmakers are also frustrated and opposed. Even President Trump expressed his concerns about the anti-hemp provisions in his Executive Order (EO) regarding rescheduling marijuana. A little-discussed section of the EO states: “President Trump is paving the way for enhanced research and better information on hemp-derived cannabinoid products, helping to inform patients and doctors about their potential role in managing common health conditions.“

THE GOOD NEWS

On January 12, 2026, House Member Jim Baird (R-IN) and a bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced a bill to aid the hemp industry, HR 7010, also known as the “Baird Bill”. If enacted, it will extend the time for the new anti-hemp provisions to go into place by an additional two years, to November 2028. The co-sponsors of the bill are House Oversight and Accountability Chair James Comer (R-KY), House Agriculture Committee Ranking Member Angie Craig (D-MN), Congressman Tim Moore (R-NC), and Congressman Gabe Evans (R-CO).

The language of the bill is short and simple. It reads:

Section 781 of the Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agency Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119–37; 139 Stat. 558) is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “365 days” and inserting “3 years”.

This is great news for the hemp industry for several reasons. First, it keeps the proverbial rug from being pulled out from underneath the thousands of hemp farmers and small business owners who have built their businesses on the promise of hemp and the definition of “hemp” that was set forth in the 2018 Farm Bill over seven years ago. Second, it gives ample time for lawmakers and regulators to come up with appropriate guardrails for the hemp industry, rather than killing it outright or ramming through new regulations that are not based in sound policy or consumer demands.

Regarding policy, Trump’s rescheduling EO mandates that, “the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and the Director of the National Institutes of Health shall develop research methods and models utilizing real-world evidence to improve access to hemp-derived cannabinoid products in accordance with Federal law and to inform standards of care.” Although the hemp sections of the EO have mostly been overlooked by the mainstream media, they are as important to the cannabis industry as a whole as the rescheduling mandate.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

The Baird bill has just been introduced. Although it has bipartisan support, it is far from becoming law and is certain to attract fierce opposition from the same special interest groups that tried to kill the hemp industry with the CR. For this reason, it is vitally important to contact your Congressional representatives and let them know that their constituents want this bill to become law. Currently, the bill is in the House. So, first contact your House member and let him/her know how important the Baird Bill (HR-7010) is to you, your business, and your customers. Click here to locate your House representative. If you are a business, then let your customers know about this bill and encourage them to contact their House members, too. If the Baird passes the House then it will go to the Senate. Click here to locate your Senators.

I also encourage you to contact James Comer (R-KY), Angie Craig (D-MN), Tim Moore (R-NC), and Congressman Gabe Evans (R-CO), Nancy Mace (R-SC), Rand Paul (R-KY), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) to thank them for supporting the industry.

The hemp industry cannot survive without you. Now is the time to act.

January 14, 2026