Legal Marijuana Industry Proponents Warn Hemp-Based THC Products Holding Industry and Movement Back

Delta-8 THC gummies.

These products, made legal through a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill, have exploded in popularity nationwide – and many proponents of legal marijuana say the trend is undermining the regulated cannabis industry and the broader movement to legalize recreational marijuana.

Unregulated “legal high” cannabinoids are being sold in gas stations and smoke shops, often tax-free and with few safety checks, leading critics to call them a “dangerous” and “existential” threat to the hard-won legal cannabis market. Those who follow their state’s recreational marijuana law must often follow strict regulations and taxation systems, something that hemp-derived THC products are often able to avoid.

Hemp-derived THC products – notably delta-8 THC and similar compounds – emerged after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized industrial hemp. That law defined hemp as cannabis containing no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive chemical in marijuana. Chemists soon discovered a gray area: they could convert hemp’s abundant CBD into other forms of THC not explicitly banned, like delta-8, and infuse it into vapes, gummies and other edibles. This gave rise to a booming quasi-legal market for “hemp THC” products that get users high in much the same way as marijuana – but exist outside the strict regulations and taxes faced by state-licensed cannabis businesses.

“These substances come out of labs unregulated, meaning they are not subject to testing for mold, pesticides or microbials like the cannabis products you would buy in a dispensary,” explained one California dispensary’s blog, describing the influx of lab-made cannabinoids. The 2018 Farm Bill’s loopholes – intended to protect hemp farmers – inadvertently enabled an untested market “operating in realms… we don’t have scientific data on,” the blog noted, citing experts. In short, hemp-derived THC turned into a regulatory blind spot: psychoactive products chemically synthesized from legal hemp CBD, sold widely online and in stores with little oversight.

This isn’t to say that all hemp-derived THC products are unsafe or untested, but its undeniable that many are, and customers are forced to rely on their ability to determine which businesses are trustworthy and which aren’t.

To licensed marijuana entrepreneurs who invested heavily under strict state laws, the hemp THC free-for-all feels like sabotage. “For those who’ve been trying to break into [our] cannabis industry, the state’s inaction on delta-8 is an insult to the thousands of dollars and years of work… put into trying to get their businesses off the ground,” said Ron Miller, co-owner of a dispensary in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. Miller blasted Illinois for allowing unlicensed shops to sell intoxicating hemp products while legal dispensaries struggle with high taxes and tight rules. “It is deeply disheartening and, frankly, a betrayal by the state to allow these shops to pop up and call themselves dispensaries,” he said at a Capitol press conference, standing beside packages of knock-off THC gummies made to look like popular snacks.

Licensed cannabis companies argue they’re playing by the rules – testing products, paying taxes, carding buyers – only to see “gas station” THC vendors undercut them on price and access. Tiffany Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, pointed out that delta-8 sellers don’t pay the same taxes or compliance costs as legal operators. As a result, these businesses are “undercutting legitimate licensed dispensaries,” offering cheap highs that even kids can afford. Ingram personally visited so-called hemp dispensaries in Chicago and found lax age checks. “It says on the door you have to be 21 to come in,” she recounted. “But no one checked my ID.”

In Nevada, which banned delta-8 early, industry leaders say the ban hasn’t completely stopped illicit sales. Layke Martin, executive director of the Nevada Cannabis Association, warns that intoxicating hemp products remain a threat. “They are not being tested in the same way… [and] not age-gated,” Martin said, noting how easily minors have obtained delta-8 edibles. The continued sale of these items “threatens the state’s legal cannabis industry,” she said – echoing a fear shared by many regulated marijuana markets. Judah Zakalik, a Nevada cultivation company co-owner, agreed the hemp-derived THC boom is a “quasi black market” operating without the costly safeguards required of legal producers. “It’s scary because they don’t have the regulations and the cost that [legal producers] have,” Zakalik said, calling the phenomenon “an existential threat” to licensed cannabis businesses.

Beyond the economic impact, legal cannabis proponents are raising alarms about youth access to unregulated hemp-derived THC products. Unlike licensed marijuana dispensaries, which are required by law to verify IDs and refuse service to anyone under 21, gas stations, convenience stores, and online retailers often operate without consistent age checks. This has made delta-8 THC products – which frequently come in brightly colored packaging resembling candy and snack brands – easily accessible to minors.

In Illinois, Tiffany Ingram, executive director of the Cannabis Business Association of Illinois, visited several hemp retailers in Chicago and found little to no enforcement of age restrictions. “It says on the door you have to be 21 to come in,” she said. “But no one checked my ID.” That level of oversight, she noted, would never be tolerated in a licensed marijuana dispensary.

Patrick Nightingale, a criminal defense attorney and longtime NORML spokesman in Pennsylvania, says the lax regulation is fueling accidental ingestion and teen use. “It is 100% unregulated. There are no standards. You have no idea what you are getting, and it is being packaged as gummies and candy, which is extremely irresponsible,” he said.

Incidents involving youth have become increasingly common. The U.S. FDA has reported thousands of adverse delta-8 incidents, including the death of a 4-year-old who consumed a bag of delta-8 gummies. High schoolers are experimenting with the products at growing rates, with 11% of U.S. 12th graders admitting to using them in 2023.

At an Illinois legislative hearing, State Representative Eva-Dina Delgado described the ease with which her teenage daughter and her friends were able to access delta-8 edibles. “As a parent, there is nothing more scary than to hear stories of kids ‘greening out’,” Delgado said. When she asked her daughter where students were getting these products, the answer was simple: “She says, ‘Oh no, we just go to the corner store.’”

In response, lawmakers in dozens of states – many of which have legal marijuana programs to protect – have moved to rein in intoxicating hemp derivatives. At least 24 U.S. states had enacted some form of restriction or ban on delta-8 THC by 2023. By early 2024, 17 states outright banned delta-8 products and 7 more imposed strict regulations, from milligram limits to age controls. Nevada, Colorado, New York, Alaska, Rhode Island and Arizona are among those prohibiting delta-8 sales, citing consumer safety. Others like Kentucky, Alabama and Louisiana have implemented age limits and testing rules to tame the “Wild West” hemp cannabinoid market.

Even in states without legal marijuana, conservative officials are cracking down. In Texas, where only medical CBD oil is permitted, the Republican-led Senate recently passed a bill to ban “all forms of consumable THC” outside the medical program. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – a staunch marijuana opponent – made targeting delta-8 a priority, arguing that the state must “shut down [this] dangerous THC products business” to protect Texans. State Sen. Charles Perry, who championed Texas’s 2019 hemp law, now says the experiment went too far. “If you can’t regulate it, control it, and enforce it, you just don’t allow it to happen,” Perry said, urging an outright ban on intoxicating hemp items after hearing reports of THC-laced drinks indistinguishable from ordinary soda.

Lawmakers in Florida likewise moved decisively. This spring, the Florida Legislature approved a bill to eliminate delta-8 THC sales entirely, despite emotional testimony from hemp businesses and consumers who benefitted from the products. The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Tommy Gregory, dismissed concerns that banning delta-8 would drive people back to illicit marijuana. “They’re drugs. They’re recreational drugs,” Gregory said of the hemp products, comparing the situation to banning gas-station sushi: just because something is legal to buy doesn’t mean it’s safe to consume. Florida’s bill (awaiting the governor’s signature) not only bans delta-8, but also imposes THC milligram caps on all hemp products – a model other states are eyeing.

While much of the criticism of hemp-derived THC products centers on safety, youth access, and unfair competition, some in the legalization movement worry that the political fallout could extend even further — potentially threatening the public support that’s been steadily built over decades for legal marijuana.

Proponents say the rise in hospitalizations, school incidents, and calls to poison control linked to unregulated delta-8 and other hemp-based products could blur the lines in the minds of voters and policymakers between legal, regulated marijuana and the poorly understood hemp THC market.

“There’s a real risk that the backlash to delta-8 becomes a backlash to all THC,” said a California dispensary owner, who emphasized that licensed marijuana is rigorously tested and regulated. “We’ve spent years proving to lawmakers and the public that legal cannabis can be done safely, responsibly, and professionally. But when a child ends up in the ER after eating a delta-8 candy from a gas station, it’s our industry that gets the political blowback.”

Several legalization advocates warn that opponents of marijuana reform are already using the confusion to fuel anti-cannabis rhetoric, portraying all THC products as dangerous and poorly controlled. If voters begin to associate marijuana legalization with chaos in the hemp market, it could erode support for initiatives in states where recreational use is not yet legal — and potentially slow momentum for federal reform.

“It’s an optics nightmare,” said a policy advisor working with the Marijuana Policy Project. “We’re fighting for careful, well-regulated adult-use cannabis, and instead the public sees brightly colored THC knockoffs sold without oversight. That doesn’t just hurt businesses — it could hurt the entire movement.”

For many in the cannabis space, the concern is that without swift action to differentiate and regulate hemp-derived THC, years of hard-fought credibility could be undone.

With state legislatures patchworking solutions, many in the cannabis community are calling for a comprehensive fix – either by closing the federal loophole or, conversely, by legalizing marijuana outright so that all THC products are brought into a regulated system. “Without sweeping federal legalization, the risk of illicit and potentially dangerous products continues to fester,” warned Steven Hawkins, a cannabis advocate who noted back in 2021 that delta-8’s rise was a symptom of prohibition. The U.S. Cannabis Council, a coalition of marijuana businesses and activists, has urged Congress to “deschedule and regulate all forms of THC” to protect consumers and fairness in the market.

Cannabis reformers also see a teachable moment in delta-8’s popularity. A recent study in JAMA found that public use of unregulated delta-8 is far higher in states that still outlaw marijuana than in those with legal access. Commenting on the data, Paul Armentano, Deputy Director of NORML, said the trend is “a predictable outgrowth of criminal marijuana prohibition.” In other words, if people can’t get legal cannabis, they’ll turn to hemp-derived alternatives. “There exists far less demand for these unregulated products in an environment where whole-plant cannabis [is] legally regulated and available,” Armentano noted. His message – echoed by many legalization advocates – is that ending the federal ban on marijuana would naturally shrink the gray market for delta-8 and its chemical cousins.

For now, the face-off continues between the hemp cannabinoid industry and the state-licensed cannabis industry. Each new restriction on delta-8 brings pushback from hemp entrepreneurs who argue that regulation, not prohibition, is the answer. But for dispensary owners and cannabis growers fighting to survive in a tightly regulated space, the stakes feel existential. They fear that as long as intoxicating hemp products remain available outside the rules, consumers and policymakers may see less incentive to support the fully legal cannabis market – or worse, that a health mishap from untested delta-8 could set back the broader legalization cause. “This Escher-esque maze of nonsense… could be solved by simply de-scheduling the cannabis plant,” one California cultivator mused of the current predicament.

Until that day, legal marijuana proponents are determined to push for a level playing field, where no synthetic shortcuts undermine the integrity – or the future – of the cannabis legalization movement.