It’s not often that Congress gets a do-over or can correct the unintended consequences of the laws they pass. As a former acting secretary of Homeland Security, I saw first-hand how legal loopholes are exploited — by both U.S. entities and our adversaries — and their impact on the American people. That impact can largely be classified as either a public safety or national security threat, and in many instances — both.
Today, we are seeing such impacts playing out with the highly potent drugs made with hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) flooding the market with largely unregulated distribution to America’s youth.
In 2018, Congress sought to create a legal market for hemp products. The intent was to legalize the sale of benign items such as rope, textiles and cannabidiol (CBD) products that have no intoxicating effect but are used to treat stress and pain. Hemp contains the CBD needed to make these products — but only small amounts of intoxicating THC. At the time, there was no fear that a lucrative illicit market would soon develop. But it did.
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Now, synthetically enhanced THC products that get adults high and have more harmful effects on children have ballooned nationwide without consistent age restrictions, labeling standards or safety requirements and are frequently packaged as gummies, candies and beverages. The results are troubling.
Between 2021 and 2022, THC-related poison control center calls exploded, up more than 79%. From 2019 to 2022, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a 214 percent increase in emergency room visits related to THC among kids under the age of 11. And as Fox News reported last year, more than 40% of victims of fatal vehicle accidents in Ohio over the past six years had elevated THC levels in their blood.
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Just as alarming as the public safety issues are the national security implications. As much as 70% of the world’s hemp production comes from China, which has a documented history of exporting dangerous drugs and their precursors to American communities, from fentanyl to synthetic opioids. Intoxicating THC hemp products are illegal in China, but they have no qualms about dumping them in our neighborhoods. For instance, the Maine Wire reported last year that a “major Chinese chemical exporter is conspiring to evade U.S. tariff and trade policy to get synthetic THC analogues into America’s recreational drug market.” We shouldn’t create a market for products they won’t even sell to their own people.
Experts have warned for years about the supply chain, public safety and national security risks of Chinese-made products — including pharmaceuticals, electronic components and rare earth minerals. Unfortunately, not enough attention has been paid to other imported products that are harming the American people.
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Last year, Congress and President Donald Trump wisely acted to address this threat, but some want to reopen this federal loophole, putting Americans’ health at serious risk. Doing so would flood the American marketplace with potentially dangerous hemp THC products.
Now is not the time to reverse course.
This is why a bipartisan group of 39 attorneys general signed a letter calling for the THC hemp loophole to be closed. The national security and public health threats are simply too significant to ignore.
Congress acted last fall with White House support when lawmakers passed legislation to more closely regulate THC hemp products and align with the original intent of the legislation. But with implementation set for November 2026, some are seeking to delay or overturn these protections. Such a move would undermine both public safety and national security priorities.
Many American law enforcement, public health officials and national security professionals believe these products have no place on store shelves. Congress should stand firm and ensure restrictions take effect this November.
