In case you’ve missed it, this summer has seen Congress make some major progress on a key legislative priority of the Stop Gas Station Heroin coalition: closing the unregulated, intoxicating hemp loophole.
The hemp loophole refers to a legal gray area created by the 2018 Farm Bill that fuels the spread of Gas Station Heroin in American communities. More specifically, it has to do with intoxicating hemp products such as Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10, and HHC.
According to the 2018 Farm Bill, the federal government classifies hemp as cannabis and its derivatives with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) on a dry weight basis. Delta-9-THC is the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis, responsible for the euphoric high associated with marijuana use.
The government’s current definition of hemp permits the manufacture and distribution of products containing non-Delta-9 intoxicating cannabinoids — including Delta-8, Delta-10, and HHC — as long as their Delta-9 content remains below the statutory threshold.
The narrow standards of the 2018 Farm Bill have resulted in a regulatory loophole exploited by manufacturers and retailers of intoxicating, hemp-derived products sold in convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops across the country.
That’s why the Senate Appropriations Committee moved this month to close the hemp loophole by approving its Fiscal Year 2026 Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
This Senate funding bill, like a similar measure passed by House appropriators in June, would decrease the Delta-9-THC limit for hemp-derived products to zero.
In other words, the legislation restores the original intent of the 2018 Farm Bill — which was never meant to create a loophole for synthetic THC — while protecting legitimate hemp farmers from rogue actors flooding the market with lab-made Gas Station Heroin.
If signed into law, the funding bill would mark the most consequential federal intervention in cannabinoid policy in years, preempting and superseding a growing patchwork of state laws by establishing a uniform federal prohibition on synthetically manipulated and intoxicating hemp derivatives.
We here at Stop Gas Station Heroin will be tracking the bill’s progress closely over the coming months, so stay tuned.
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