CMS Administrator Dr Mehmet Oz urged senators to reject Senator Ted Budd’s amendment to a short-term government funding bill. The amendment sought to remove a provision delaying a planned federal ban on most intoxicating hemp-derived products, making the dispute significant for both consumer access and the future of the hemp industry.

The underlying restrictions, passed in 2025, are due to take effect in November 2026 and would sharply limit products containing THC, including many delta-8 products. Budd argued that the delay would prolong a public-health risk to children, citing a near tenfold rise in cannabis-related emergency-room visits by minors in North Carolina since 2017; supporters of the delay said it would allow time for a safer regulatory framework.