How the Federal Hemp Fight Affects Your Family

For the past seven years, the hemp industry has been directly responsible for flooding the U.S. market with intoxicating hemp-derived THC products, and these products have appeared in gas stations and convenience stores. They are widely available to children and adults alike, and are called “gas station weed.” Worse yet, there are many products with colorful packaging that mimics everyday snack foods, which target young consumers.

This happened because the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill allowed for the legal production of hemp, which is something the industry lobbied for so it could have the ability to make textiles, rope, and clothing. After the bill passed, the industry decided to make drugs, and they did this by exploited a loophole created by the bill.  

Hemp and marijuana are the same plant, and the only difference is that hemp is required to contain 0.3% or less of THC. Unfortunately, you can take hemp and chemically convert it into a high-THC substance, and the harms associated with using high-THC hemp products are just as catastrophic as they are for using high-THC marijuana products.

Every state was caught off guard by the influx of these intoxicating products, and the products arrived regardless of a state's law on marijuana legalization. Over the past seven years, some states managed to pass legislation to prohibit intoxicating hemp, but many states have not.

Many people have demanded federal action on closing the loophole, and this was finally done in November 2025. The new federal law prohibiting intoxicating hemp products (and not textiles) was supposed to go into effect this coming November. That date is now delayed a month because the hemp industry put pressure on the White House and the senate and asked for more time to propose "regulation."

Right now, there is a high-stakes battle being played out in Washington D.C. where this issue is being used as a bargaining chip for the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027. Although we cannot easily affect what happens in Washington D.C., we can act within our own families.

Here are 3 things parents can do to address this issue:

1. Talk to your child today about hemp-derived THC products and tell them these products are just as harmful as using high potency marijuana.

2. Find out of your state has a law which prohibits hemp-derived THC products from being sold in gas stations and convenience stores. If not, tell your state representative, state senator, and governor that this law is needed.

3. Contact your congressional representative, your senators, and the White House and let them know how you feel about the hemp industry’s efforts to sideline the ban on hemp-derived THC products. To see if your U.S. senators stood up for public health when they had the chance, click HERE for the roll call vote. (A “nay” is a good thing for this particular vote.)