Anti-drug, education, police and health groups have asked Congress to ban intoxicating hemp substances, as the battle against the illicit compounds is reaching a fever pitch.
The organizations, 51 in total, said they support the the Miller Amendment, a legislative update to the 2018 Farm Bill that redefines hemp to distinguish between plants grown for flowers from which the psychoactive hemp substances are derived, and the more traditional “industrial hemp,” which includes crops farmed for food in the form of grain, and those grown for the plant’s valuable fibers.
The next Farm Bill, originally the 2023 Farm Bill, is expected in early 2025 following repeated delays.
What’s in ‘Miller’
The amendment, named after Illinois Rep. Mary Miller, who introduced it, allows only naturally occurring or naturally derived nonintoxicating compounds and redefines the 0.3% THC limit for hemp to a combination of delta-9 THC and THCA. It would eliminate all lab-produced, synthetic forms of intoxicating cannabinoids, most of which are made from CBD base material extracted from hemp flowers.
The groups said they also support a U.S. Congressional spending bill that includes similar language. The enactment of either measure would result in a national shutdown in the distribution of products containing the unregulated hemp substances.
“The definition of hemp in the 2018 Farm Bill has been interpreted by the hemp industry as ‘legalizing’ semi-synthetic cannabinoids (e.g., delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, HHC, THC-O, etc.) that have similar effects as delta-9 THC,” the letter observes. “These products are continually innovated to circumvent existing regulations, underscoring the urgent need for a comprehensive ban to effectively curtail their availability,” the letter observes.
The surge in intoxicating hemp products has been meteoric, with the substances becoming increasingly available in products carried online, and in hemp shops, gas stations, bars, bodegas’ coffee shops, strip malls and even mobile trailers. These outlets do not have licenses that allow them to sell intoxicating cannabis products. The illicit products, which go by slang names such as “diet weed,” “marijuana light,” or “gas station pot,” are sold in the form of gummies, candies, drinks, tinctures, “topicals” (often taken internally) and inhalable vapes and smokeable products.
‘No’ to regulation
Led by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America (CADCA), which drafted the letter, the organizations say the products should be banned completely and not simply regulated. “Trying to regulate semi-synthetic cannabinoids will not work,” the groups said.
“Consistent with concerns regarding youth access and appeal, national data from 2023 shows that one-in-nine 12th graders (11.4%) reported using delta-8 THC in the past year. This is likely an underestimation of their use, considering the dozens of other semi-synthetic cannabinoids in addition to delta-8 THC being sold across the United States,” the letter states.
Health & safety
The products and their manufacturers have drawn widespread condemnation from local, state and federal regulators and lawmakers, especially since many of the products are in packaging attractive to kids.
“To protect the health and safety of our communities, we need to completely close the federal loophole by explicitly excluding these products from the definition of hemp,” according to the letter.
The possibility of making such compounds from industrial hemp was not understood or envisioned by lawmakers when they passed the 2018 Farm Bill, leaving a loophole that unscrupulous operators have taken advantage of and, along the way, re-associated non-drug cannabis (hemp) with psychoactive cannabis (marijuana).
The groups who signed the letter to Congress underscored that there have been thousands of calls to U.S. poison control centers from use of the products, with more than 30% of those calls regarding children five years and younger.
‘Acute’ risks
Research on the compounds has shown association with “acute psychiatric disorders including severe psychosis, and lung, chest, and heart disorders, as well as injuries and poisonings,” the groups wrote.
The U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has explicitly stated that intoxicating hemp substances have not been evaluated or approved for safe use and are illegal, and would require FDA approval before being marketed as safe and effective.
Ahead of federal lawmakers addressing the issue, states across the USA are working to reign in the intoxicating hemp products, with some banning them altogether and others imposing strict rules. Court challenges to laws in some states have mostly upheld bans or strict regulations.
Signatories
Organizations that signed the letter include:
- American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry (AAAP)
- American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP)
- American Psychological Association Services, Inc.
- Americans Against Legalizing Marijuana
- Becca Schmill Foundation
- CADCA
- California Consortium of Addiction Programs & Professionals
- Cannabis Impact Prevention Coalition, LLC
- Cannabis Industry Victims Educating Litigators (CIVEL)
- Cannabis Industry Victims Seeking Justice (CIVSJ)
- Charting Careers, Inc.
- College on Problems of Drug Dependence
- Consumer Federation of America (CFA)
- D.A.R.E. America
- DEA Educational Foundation
- Drug Enforcement Association of Federal Narcotics Agents (DEAFNA)
- Drug Free America Foundation, Inc.
- Every Brain Matters
- Foundation for a Healthy Generation
- Georgians for a Responsible Marijuana Policy
- Institute for Behavioral Health, Inc.
- International Academy on the Science & Impact of Cannabis
- Lost Voices of Fentanyl
- Maryland Prevention Works Coalition
- MATFORCE
- Minnesota Prevention Alliance
- Monument Prevention Coalition
- Mothers Against Prescription Drug Abuse (MAPDA)
- National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA)
- National Alliance of State Drug Enforcement Agencies (NASDEA)
- National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers
- National HIDTA Director’s Association (NHDA)
- National Narcotic Officers’ Associations’ Coalition (NNOAC)
- National Prevention Science Coalition to Improve Lives
- New Jerseyans Against Legalizing Marijuana
- No2Pot
- North Carolinians Against Legalizing Marijuana
- One Chance to Grow Up
- Partnership to End Addiction
- Pennsylvania Against Legalizing
- Marijuana Prevention Alliance of Tennessee
- Public Health Institute (PHI)
- Save Our Society from Drugs
- Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM)
- Student Assistance Services Corporation
- Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD)
- Substance Awareness Coalition Leaders of Arizona (SACLAz)
- Texans for Safe and Drug-Free Youth
- Treatment Communities of America
- Washington State Public Health Association
- WestCare Foundation
