(DC BUREAU) – Certain hemp-derived products, like THC drinks and gummies, could be off the shelves by late next year. That's after lawmakers banned products with more than 0.4 milligrams of THC in the latest government funding bill. "I mean, that didn't work so well for alcohol. Why will it work well here?" Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) said. Merkley and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) are supporting a bill they say will regulate the hemp industry rather than ban it. Merkley is hoping it passes before the measure takes effect next November. "It's a pretty significant industry across the country. Why shut down something that's a success as long as you can regulate it appropriately?" Merkley said. Merkley's "Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation Act" would institute a legal purchasing age of 21 years old, set manufacturing and testing control processes, and ban what it deems excessive levels of THC. "You have, certainly, the ability to regulate it the way we regulate other intoxicating products. So, let's produce a win-win instead," Merkley explained. The debate over hemp products comes after Kentucky Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell pushed to close what's known as the hemp loophole in the 2018 farm bill. That bill legalized hemp but also opened the door for a range of products to be sold with little oversight. Speaking in November, McConnell argued companies have exploited the law, fueling an unregulated industry of intoxicating substances often targeted at children. "Children end up being the unknowing consumers of these poisonous products and being sent to the hospital at an alarming rate," McConnell said on the Senate floor Nov. 10. The ban is supposed to start in roughly a year, but Merkley's office says farmers need to make planting decisions in early 2026.