Keep the hemp loophole closed

Intoxicating hemp products pose a serious danger to Florida communities. According to the Florida Poison Information Center Network, delta-8 THC exposures have been rising steadily, with children among the most affected. Nationally, America’s Poison Centers warn that children are especially vulnerable to severe toxicity from delta-8 THC poisoning, with symptoms that can include hallucinations, loss of consciousness or even death.

As Chair of the Florida Senate Committee on Health Policy, it is my responsibility to protect our communities from exactly these kinds of dangers. It’s why I have filed multiple bills over the past several years aimed at shielding Florida’s children and families from the harms of unregulated hemp products.

It was never meant to be this way. Congress authorized hemp to help American farmers and support rural communities, opening the door to a new agricultural opportunity.

Unfortunately, bad actors had other plans. They moved quickly to exploit a loophole in the law for profit, flooding the market with products containing delta-8 THC, an intoxicating cannabinoid that has not been tested or approved by the Food and Drug Administration for any safe use.

What is being sold today also bears little resemblance to anything naturally derived from hemp. Many of these products rely on synthetically converted or highly concentrated versions of delta-8 THC that can be far more potent than the natural compound, making them more dangerous and harder to regulate.

On top of all this, there is hardly any regulation of hemp products containing delta-8 THC. Studies and investigations have found these products can be mislabeled, contain heavy metals and industrial solvents, and exceed legal THC concentration limits.

This lack of regulation has allowed these same bad actors to target and prey on children. They make hemp products look like ordinary snacks, even though they contain dangerous delta-8 THC. With no meaningful age restrictions in place, kids can walk into a gas station and buy these products off the shelf without any real understanding of what they are consuming.

Florida has taken action. Last Summer, under the leadership of Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, the state conducted Operation Safe Summer. The initiative helped remove more than 155,000 illegal hemp packages that violated Florida’s child-protection standards for packaging, labeling and marketing. Those efforts helped keep dangerous hemp products out of the hands of children.

Now, thanks to Congress, the hemp loophole is set to close this November. I appreciate the work and leadership Washington has shown to protect children and teens from these products. As the industry lobbies to reverse this decision, I urge Congress to resist those efforts.

Rather than entertaining any discussion about reopening the hemp loophole, we should focus on what is best for our communities. These products have caused demonstrable harm across our state, and the industry has shown no willingness to self-regulate.

The path forward is clear. We must ban these products statewide to protect the health, safety and well-being of our neighborhoods.

I call on Congress to hold firm and keep the hemp loophole closed.

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Colleen Burton, a Lakeland Republican, was first elected to the Florida Senate in 2022 after serving in the Florida House of Representatives from 2014 to 2022. She represents part of Polk County and chairs the Senate Committee on Health Policy.