A coalition of 39 state and territorial attorneys general has asked Congress to close the loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that has enabled a national market for unregulated intoxicating hemp derivatives.
In a letter to congressional agriculture and appropriations leaders, the AGs – both Democrats and Republicans – say the federal definition of hemp that allows companies to convert legal CBD into psychoactive substances has resulted in “Frankenstein THC products that get adults high and harm and even kill children.”
The loophole has led to such products inundating communities, with limited age restrictions and minimal oversight due to a “grievously mistaken interpretation” of the 2018 Farm Bill, the letter warns.
‘Illicit’ foundation
The “entire synthetic THC industry” rests on “a foundation of illicit conduct,” and Congress should act to prevent the loophole from “metastasizing further into an even greater threat to public safety than it already is,” the state law officials wrote.
While the letter does not call for an outright ban, it asks Congress to rewrite the federal definition of hemp so that intoxicating compounds derived from hemp are treated as controlled substances.
Hemp not the target
The landmark 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and all downstream derivative products that can be made from the plant. But lawmakers at the time were unaware that hemp-derived CBD can be turned into “high”-producing substances in the laboratory. A wave of dodgy companies are doing just that to pursue profits “at the expense of public safety and health,” according to the letter.
The coalition says banning intoxicating hemp products “will not inhibit the cultivation of hemp for industrial and agricultural uses.” Fiber, hurd and grain stakeholders have warned that conflating hemp with intoxicating cannabinoids threatens investment, climate-smart projects and material innovation.
In closing, the officials urge Congress not to allow “irresponsible corporations to take advantage of your good work.” The outcome now hinges on whether lawmakers narrow the hemp definition to prohibit intoxicating derivatives or adopt Rand Paul’s approach that protects hemp-derived consumables.
Patchwork rules
The attorneys general say state-level bans and age limits cannot solve the problem because intoxicating hemp products are sold online and shipped across state lines, creating what the letter calls “an uneven and ineffectual patchwork.”
Leading signatories of the letter are Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, a Republican; Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat; Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita, a Republican; and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat.
An additional 18 Republicans and 15 Democrats also signed the letter from the following states and territories: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wyoming.
Congress divided
The request lands amid an internal fight in the Senate. Republican Leader Mitch McConnell supported language in the agriculture appropriations bill that would have banned consumable hemp products containing “quantifiable THC.”
The language was removed after Sen. Rand Paul threatened to block the bill. Paul is also advancing the HEMP Act, which instead raises allowable THC levels in hemp and protects consumable hemp products.