Whether you support retail marijuana sales, oppose them, or fall somewhere in between, one principle should unite us: the federal closure of the intoxicating hemp loophole must remain intact and be implemented with no further delays. Without the law signed last November, the integrity and future of today’s consumable marijuana and hemp markets and the trust of families cannot be restored.
When Congress legalized industrial hemp in the 2018 Federal Farm Bill, it was to advance nonintoxicating hemp for agriculture and other innovative manufacturing opportunities. Creating a nationwide unregulated intoxicant drug marketplace was never the intent.
Unfortunately, bad actors exploited the 0.3% dry weight THC potency allowance in legal hemp crops (which accounted for naturally occurring levels of THC in nonintoxicating hemp plants). They lab-produced derivative psychoactive drugs, often using harmful chemicals, additives, and manufacturing methods. They flooded communities, through gas stations, convenience stores, and online marketplaces with gummies, vapes, and drinks labeled “hemp” or “CBD,” often packaged to resemble trusted everyday children’s candy, snacks, and beverages. With no rules, the potencies of their lab-produced products often matched or exceeded THC levels available in states’ regulated marijuana markets.
In the “Wild West” of the intoxicating hemp market, there are no age gates, no testing standards, no ingredient disclosures, no warnings. The only assured variable is predictable harm from those building businesses off targeting children and deceiving the public through “dupe” products and false claims.
The intoxicating hemp loophole closure does not ban hemp or eliminate nonintoxicating CBD products, despite industry claims otherwise. It does preserve industrial hemp and respects state-legal marijuana markets. What it ends is the ability to sell intoxicating drugs anywhere under a “hemp” disguise. It is a minimum standard the public expects: If a product can intoxicate, it should not be marketed as wellness “hemp” and sold next to everyday candies, snacks, and drinks outside of a voter-approved marijuana dispensary.
Congressional members acted decisively when they learned what was at stake. The measure passed with a rare bipartisan supermajority of 76 senators. It reflected what harmed families, emergency physicians, leading public health and youth-serving organizations, law enforcement, regulators, and 39 state attorneys general, both Democrat and Republican, had already concluded: this loophole had become a national public-health crisis. It was causing unacceptable harm to children, families, and communities nationwide.
The intoxicating hemp free-for-all led to the rise of accidental child poisonings and injuries, ER visits and hospitalizations, impaired driving, and other serious physical and mental health effects, including acute psychosis that, for some, led to suicide.
The hemp loophole closure also does something long overdue. It directs the FDA, in consultation with HHS, to identify all cannabinoids that occur naturally in the plant, including THC-class cannabinoids and other cannabinoids with similar psychoactive effects, while implementing total THC container limits. It establishes a science-based process that is urgently needed to guide responsible policymaking moving forward.
The intoxicating hemp industry has already had seven years to adopt product safeguards and has chosen not to. Ironically, they are now fighting for even more time, while they will already have had a full year to comply. They can choose to reformulate to meet federal safety standards or comply with rules other THC manufacturers must follow in state-legal markets. Their claims of “hurting hemp farmers” remain unsupported, with reports showing their lab-produced products use little hemp acreage.
Thanks to the leadership of Congress and President Donald Trump, the law is now finally on the side of children, families, and public safety. Although urgently needed safeguards can only be realized if the closure is implemented without delays.
THE SUPREME COURT GOT IT RIGHT
No matter where people stand on legal retail marijuana sales, we can all agree that intoxicating drugs should not be disguised as wellness products and sold in everyday retail spaces. Our nation’s children only get one chance to grow up, and we must band together to defend it by ensuring the closure of the intoxicating hemp loophole is fully implemented without delays.
Diane Carlson is a co-founder and National Policy Director of One Chance to Grow Up, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that educates and advocates children’s interests in marijuana policy.
