According to the definition in the law, hemp is cannabis with a maximum of 0.3 percent THC, while anything above that is considered marijuana. After legalization in 2018, products like Delta-8 THC found themselves in a legal gray area, widely available online and in small shops. The new provision aims to prevent just that, while allowing the sale of CBD and industrial hemp products.
The law passed the Senate and the House of Representatives with the support of some Democrats, and Donald Trump signed it just a few hours later. However, it will only come into force in a year.
Critics warn the measure could destroy the $28 billion hemp industry and threaten about 300,000 jobs in states like Texas, Kentucky and Utah.
Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, one of the key proponents of the provision, argued that the intervention was necessary to protect children from “drugs disguised as candy.” He alleges that companies used the shortcomings of the law to produce psychoactive products from legal ingredients and sell them to minors.
However, the available statistics do not confirm the scale of the problem to which McConnell refers. From 2017 to 2021, there were 7,043 cases in which children under the age of six consumed edible products with THC, but it is not clear how many of them related to hemp and how many to stronger marijuana products. Cannabis-related deaths are extremely rare and often associated with the presence of other substances.
At the same time, in 2021, firearms killed 4,752 children in the USA, and traffic accidents claimed the lives of another 1,184 minors. Compared to those numbers, the focus on hemp is seen by many as a misguided political priority.
The provision comes at a time when nearly 70 percent of Americans worry they won’t be able to cover unexpected health expenses. While citizens fear economic instability, critics warn that the state is dealing with prohibitions instead of real problems that affect the quality of life.
