When Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, the goal was to help farmers — not to create a new way to get high. Lawmakers from agricultural states pushed to legalize industrial hemp, a non-intoxicating cousin of cannabis, to boost rural economies through new products like rope, textiles, and building materials. The slogan at the time, “Rope, not dope,” made clear the intent: promote agriculture, not open the door to recreational THC.
But that door was left cracked open — and an entire industry has rushed through it.
A gap in the law has spawned a booming gray market for hemp-derived intoxicants. These products — THC-infused gummies, vapes, and seltzers — deliver the same high as more traditional marijuana but are being sold in convenience stores and online, often with no age checks, no potency limits, and no safety standards. They can mimic candy or soda, blurring the line between snack and drug. In some states, you can’t buy a beer until age 21, but a teenager can buy a hemp seltzer with an unknown and unverified amount of THC, no questions asked.
The imbalance is striking. Alcohol is governed by decades of federal and state oversight to prevent abuse and protect public health. Cannabis, where legalized, is tightly regulated through seed-to-sale tracking, child-resistant packaging, and strict potency rules. Yet hemp-derived intoxicants — chemically identical in effect — are being sold in unregulated marketplaces with none of those safeguards. It’s as if the law drew a bright line between similar substances, then forgot to enforce it. Indeed, perhaps most striking is the laissez-faire approach to intoxicating hemp products compared to the strict regulation and accountability measures in place for the sale of tobacco products.
The problem stems from how the 2018 Farm Bill defined hemp as cannabis containing less than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by dry weight. That narrow focus and slippery definition of Delta-9 ignored the potential for other intoxicating cannabinoids — like Delta-8 and Delta-10 — to be synthesized from hemp extracts. Lab innovation quickly outpaced legislation, producing a wave of semi-synthetic THC products that exploit the legal gray zone. The body can’t tell whether THC comes from hemp or marijuana — the effects are the same.
Despite the perception that these products are “federally legal,” the FDA has repeatedly stated they are not approved for human consumption and violate the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Yet with little enforcement, the market has exploded, leaving states to craft a patchwork of responses. Some have imposed bans or testing requirements, while others have looked the other way, creating confusion for consumers, retailers, and law enforcement alike.
This unregulated marketplace undermines both consumer safety and fair competition. Responsible cannabis businesses face stringent taxes, ID checks, and packaging rules. Meanwhile, hemp-derived THC operators pay no excise taxes, face no potency limits, and market directly to young people. In contrast to common sales of state-legalized cannabis in dispensaries, local media reports show unregulated intoxicating hemp appearing on shelves next to all sorts of food and beverage items, holiday decorations, and even toys. Legitimate hemp farmers — the very people the Farm Bill aimed to support — now find their industry associated with unregulated intoxicants rather than sustainable crops.
Congress has a chance to fix this mistake. Both the House and Senate versions of the FY26 Agriculture Appropriations bills include language to close the “intoxicating hemp loophole.” This isn’t about banning hemp — it’s about restoring the Farm Bill’s original purpose and aligning the law with scientific reality. Hemp should be treated as the agricultural commodity lawmakers intended, not as a legal fiction for manufacturing unregulated THC.
Regulatory clarity isn’t just a matter of bureaucracy — it’s a matter of public trust. When cannabis and hemp are regulated under completely different standards despite producing the same psychoactive effects, consumers lose confidence, and public safety suffers. Congress can — and should — bring sanity and consistency back to hemp policy before the “Farm Bill high” spins even further out of control.
