The bipartisan Beverage Regulatory Parity Act would carve hemp THC drinks out of the federal hemp ban under a new alcohol-style three-tier system, as a Republican senator breaks with the White House over the broader delay fight.
NATIONAL, August 15, 2026: Reps. Beth Van Duyne, R-Texas, and Greg Landsman, D-Ohio, introduced the Beverage Regulatory Parity Act on August 10, a bill that would carve hemp-derived THC beverages out of the broader federal hemp ban and regulate them instead under a three-tier system modeled on alcohol, according to Marijuana Moment.
Under the bill, adults 21 and older could buy hemp beverages containing up to 5 milligrams of total intoxicating THC per serving, a lower cap than the delta-9-specific limit in an earlier draft version of the bill. The beverages would fall under the Treasury Department's Tax and Trade Bureau, in consultation with the Department of Health and Human Services' FDA and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, with new federal requirements for testing, packaging, labeling and container sizes capped at 750 milliliters for multi-serving packages. The bill sets a federal excise tax of 8 cents per milligram of intoxicating THC, down from 10 cents in the earlier draft, and would let states set stricter rules of their own while barring them from blocking interstate shipment of compliant products.
The bill drew immediate industry support. The Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America formally endorsed the legislation, joined in public comments by Total Wine & More and the American Beverage Licensees trade group, while the Hemp Beverage Alliance and other coalitions signaled alignment around a federal framework. Van Duyne said the bill offers "clarity, not a ban that pushes this market underground," and Landsman said it would "keep people safe and let these folks stay in business."
Separately, Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C., who led the failed push to strip a one-month delay of the broader federal hemp ban from the Senate's funding bill, said in an August 13 interview with Spectrum News that he believes President Trump has been misinformed by his own staff on the issue, calling it "very unfortunate." The comment marks one of the more direct public breaks with the White House from within Senate Republican ranks since the delay passed.
The House, which previously passed its own funding bill without the hemp delay language, is scheduled to return from recess August 31 and will need to reconcile its version with the Senate's before the CR's December 11 deadline takes effect.
Forma works embedded on hemp and THC beverage formulation and commercial scale-up, from compliant dosing and label claims through co-packer qualification. This wire is a byproduct of the same regulatory tracking that informs that work.
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