Congress took an important step to protect youth last year when it enacted new restrictions on intoxicating hemp products, but it is critical that these new rules are implemented without delay.
In 2018, Congress legalized hemp with the intention of legalizing industrial and non-intoxicating hemp products (e.g., CBD). That law required hemp to have less than 0.3% THC, the intoxicating chemical in marijuana, in order to be considered “hemp” and not “marijuana” and remain exempt from the restrictions imposed on marijuana under the Controlled Substances Act.
However, companies exploited a loophole in the law to use legal hemp to create new products with higher concentrations of THC, resulting in the proliferation of products containing synthetic hemp-derived compounds (e.g., delta-8 THC, delta-10 THC, THC-O, HHC, HHC-O). Like delta-9 THC, the main psychoactive ingredient found in marijuana, these hemp-derived compounds are psychoactive and can result in a range of negative consequences, including addiction.
Such compounds, altered just slightly from traditional delta-9 THC in marijuana, existed in a legal gray area and have been largely unregulated and not subject to marijuana regulations. Often, these products are sold in flavors and marketed and sold to youth in accessible locations (e.g., gas stations, convenience stores), even in states that have not legalized marijuana for adult non-medical use. As a result, teen use of and child poisonings from these products increased. Last year, nearly 1 in 10 high school seniors reported using cannabis products made from hemp, and from 2021 to 2023, more than 8,000 calls related to ingestion of delta-8 THC were placed to poison control centers, nearly a third of which involved children under age 6.
In response to these concerns, Congress passed a law in late 2025 to close the loophole and restrict the sale of these unregulated, intoxicating hemp-derived products. The new law keeps the hemp definition with the 0.3% THC limit but bans compounds that are synthetically derived from hemp and hemp-derived products containing more than 0.4 milligrams of THC (or other cannabinoids that have/are marketed to have similar effects). This preserves hemp farming and the manufacture/sale of industrial and non-intoxicating hemp products while banning the widespread sale of intoxicating, synthetic products. The new restrictions are set to take effect a year from passage, meaning November 2026.
However, some members of the industry and of Congress are pushing to delay implementation of this law, claiming that additional time is needed to develop regulations. An extension of the implementation timeline could be included in the Farm Bill reauthorization Congress is currently working on. But a one-year implementation period is reasonable, providing time for manufacturers and retailers to adjust and for regulators to prepare for enforcement. A delay would further entrench the market and allow continued availability of dangerous products, leading to more youth exposure and negative health consequences.
Send a letter to your members of Congress urging them to oppose efforts to delay implementation of the new hemp definition and maintain the effective date of the law to minimize the harm these intoxicating products can pose, particularly for youth.