Intoxicating Hemp

Close Illinois’ Intoxicating Hemp Loophole

The 2018 Farm Bill allows the sale of hemp products that contain less than 0.3% of THC, the main psychoactive component of cannabis. This has led to the creation of a booming gray market in which chemicals are used to alter the composition of hemp to create a wide range of synthetic products that get consumers high.

This is happening outside the structure of the state’s legal cannabis industry, meaning there are no rules or regulations guiding the production or sale of the products. This has sowed confusion across Illinois, with consumers getting sick from unregulated products posing as legitimate cannabis items. At the same time, these products are undermining the state’s legal cannabis industry, including siphoning away tax dollars used to fund important community programs.

Consumer Protection

  • Because there are no standard testing requirements for hemp intoxicants, consumers have no guarantee of what they are purchasing.
  • These products are synthetically altered, and the health effects of synthetic hemp are unknown. As it is, some intoxicating hemp products have bene reported to contain fentanyl and other harmful chemicals.
  • There are no regulations on where stores can sell hemp intoxicants, meaning products containing THC can be and are sold near schools.
  • There are no packaging requirements such as those imposed on cannabis products; hemp intoxicants can look nearly identical to a child’s favorite snack and are not required to have child-proof packaging.
  • There are no potency limits; and intoxicating hemp products are often blatantly promoted to contain more THC than legally allowed.

 

Community Support

  • Illinois sets aside 25 percent of adult-use cannabis tax revenue to fund the Restore, Reinvest, Renew grant program. To date, roughly $250 million in R3 grants have been awarded to support legal aid, economic development, re-entry, violence prevention and youth development programs in communities impacted by the War on Drugs.
  • Those selling intoxicating hemp are not required to collect cannabis taxes, meaning much-needed revenue is not being captured by the state.
  • While Illinois cannabis sales hit a record $1.59 billion in 2023, cannabis taxes collected by the state fell, dropping to $451.9 million compared to $466.8 million the year prior.
  • Consumers are seeking the tax-free options presented by the unregulated intoxicating hemp market, which reduces revenue to support community investment grants.
  • Since most intoxicating hemp products are grown and produced outside of Illinois, meaning dollars generated from these sales bypass Illinois farmers and businesses.

Level the Playing Field

  • While cannabis businesses face extensive rules and regulations to operate, allowing the sale of unregulated hemp products undercuts that process and undermines the intent of the state’s adult-use cannabis law.
  • Closing this loophole is particularly important for social equity cannabis operators, who have played by the rules but must compete with hemp sellers who face no regulations.
  • A stringent regulatory structure already exists for legal cannabis in Illinois. Intoxicating hemp products should be brought into the existing cannabis laws.
  • This will ensure hemp businesses can stay in operation within the safeguards of the state’s existing cannabis industry, maintaining investments and improving consumer safety.

The Solution

When the federal government legalized the production and sale of hemp in 2018, it was designed to encourage the development of industrial hemp for textiles, petroleum substitutes and other uses. It was not intended to legalize intoxicating hemp products. Lawmakers must pass legislation to close the intoxicating hemp loophole.

Illinois is an outlier as one of just a handful of states that has failed to take action to regulate intoxicating hemp products. As a result, individual municipalities across the state are putting in place their own rules, creating a confusing and dangerous patchwork of regulations.

Hemp and cannabis come from the same plant. Both products can get users high. Why the different rules? Illinois already has a system in place to regulate hemp – it’s called the Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act.