By Julie Dreifaldt, National Director of Outreach & Community Engagement, One Chance to Grow Up

Jacques Cousteau once famously said, “People protect what they love.” In my work, this quote is my North Star. Whether it is our own children, their friends, or the youth in our communities, we all have a responsibility to act as their shield amid a constantly shifting landscape of threats.

Today, kids are facing substance use risks that are always evolving, much like the fast-moving world of tech. We are no longer dealing with the substance use patterns of the past. We’re playing Whack-a-Mole with new, dangerous products constantly emerging. 

We are navigating a regulatory Wild West where convenience stores, websites, and vape shops offer unregulated hemp-derived THC products, concentrated kratom, nitrous oxide and commercialized psychedelics, often rebranded as harmless lifestyle products.

Deception by Design

Gas station intoxicants may be novel in substance, but they aren’t a one-off problem. This is merely the latest turn in a predictable cycle.  You know, same song, second verse. A new substance exploits legislative loopholes or the preexisting state of regulatory imagination, gets marketed as wellness or a novelty, arrives in kid-appealing flavors and packaging, and reaches young people long before testing, labeling, and age safeguards catch up. 

We watched it happen with tobacco, vaping and commercialized marijuana. Most recently we watched it with intoxicating hemp-derived THC, born from a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill.

The pattern of profit-driven opportunism is predictable, and so are the public health harms. It’s already repeating again.

• Candy-Like Marketing: From faux ice cream cones to vibrant vape pens in fruity flavors these products are specifically formulated and packaged to appeal to a young consumer’s palate.
• The “Wellness” Trap: Many of these products are marketed as “natural” for anxiety and focus. This masks the fact that these are high-potency, chemically engineered substances that have not been evaluated for safety by the FDA.
• Regulatory Loopholes: By exploiting gaps in federal law regarding hemp-derived THC, products bypass the safeguards of licensed marijuana dispensaries, often with little to no age verification.

What Is Available to Kids Today?

The gas station marketplace has expanded far beyond tobacco. These intoxicants are now displayed openly, almost indistinguishable from everyday convenience store snacks.

• Hemp-Derived THC: Through a federal loophole whose closure is still impending, products containing high-potency THC (including Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, and THC-P) are sold online and in stores without child-proof packaging or safety warnings. A single “Mom’s Apple Pie” flavored cookie found online contained 500mg of THC—a massive, unregulated dose.
• Intoxicating Beverages & Inhalers: We are seeing “wellness” shots (100mg of THC in a single shot) and even THC inhalers that are physically interchangeable with asthma medication, allowing them to be used by teens in plain sight.
• Nitrous Oxide: Once just a tool for the dentist’s office, nitrous oxide is now sold in gas stations and vape shops as “culinary” whipped cream chargers. Marketed with kid-friendly branding like “Galaxy Gas” and flavors like “Blue Razz,” these products are being misused by youth who face severe risks of asphyxiation and heart failure.
• Kratom & 7-OH: Often sold as energy drinks or “supplement” shots, these opioids can be 13x more potent than morphine. They are frequently found next to standard juices and energy drinks, leading to “accidental intoxications” where even adults are deceived by the packaging.
• Psychedelic Edibles: Despite being unapproved for food safety, Amanita Muscaria psychedelic chocolates and gummies, often labeled with vague terms like “proprietary mushroom blend,” conceal these potent hallucinogens as snacks.

The Impact on the Developing Brain

Today’s products are highly processed and far more potent than anything previous generations encountered. This is one of the key differences between products’ claims of being organic, plant-based natural health products and the reality of current substances. Many adults still think cannabis is “just a plant.” Modern producers take advantage of this to conceal the reality of what they’re actually making.

Current products are made through commercial chemistry and complex distillation, and the risks of these items are highest for kids. The brain keeps developing until the mid to late 20’s, which makes adolescents uniquely vulnerable to high-potency substances and novel intoxicants. The adolescent brain is “all gas and no brakes,” with emotional and reward centers fully online while judgment and self-control systems are still under construction.

• Dopamine Hijacking: High-potency THC floods the brain with dopamine, creating a “reward deficit” where natural joys like academic success or social connections feel dull by comparison.
• Mental & Physical Health Risks: We are seeing surges in Cannabis Use Disorder (CUD), Cannabis-Induced Psychosis (CIP), and Cannabinoid Hyperemesis Syndrome (CHS) and science tells us that THC can elevate depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation and other mental health struggles.
• A Gateway Reality: Evidence confirms that early initiation of substance use, particularly THC, is strongly associated with higher risks of future opioid use disorders and other addictions.

What We Can Do: The Power of Community and Conversation

Here’s the hopeful part: most young people are choosing not to use. 

In the most recent Healthy Kids Colorado Survey (HKCS) results from 2025, a minority of high school-aged youth used substances like THC in the previous 30-day period. 78% of high schoolers stated that they think it is wrong for someone their age to use marijuana– a 7-point increase from 71% in 2023. 92% of this same group believe their parents or guardians feel it would be wrong if they used marijuana, an increase from 90% in 2023.

Parents remain the single most powerful influence on a youth’s choice whether to use substances like cannabis. Young people who know a trusted adult disapproves of marijuana use are 72% less likely to use. The most recent 2026 National Drug Control Strategy put out by the federal government even specifically states “families, educators, coaches, and mentors play a critical role in modeling healthy behaviors.”

• Lead with Motivational Interviewing: When talking to kids, avoid lecturing. Use open-ended questions like, “What would be the upside of making this change?” or “If you made this change, how might life look a year from now?”
• Shift the Social Norms: Use national data to show youth that the majority of their high school peers are actually choosing to abstain from substance use. This empowers them to feel like they are part of a healthy, clear-headed majority.
• Advocate for Local Control: Federal regulations move slowly, but local leaders can implement guardrails. Support policies that keep these products out of our neighborhoods and close the federal hemp loophole to ensure strict, transparent labeling and safety standards.

Back in the old Wild West, so-called “snake oil” cures were promoted by slick salesmen as medicine. Today, young people face similarly deceptive marketing for substances that promise health benefits. But unlike mere snake oil, the risks of these products are real and jeopardize their futures. 

Because the threats keep multiplying, parents and other trusted adults need to step up to protect kids. Kids only get one chance to grow up — and they’re counting on the adults around them to pay attention to keep them healthy, safe, and empowered.

Right now, the most important step you can take is helping keep the federal hemp loophole closed. Closure was secured last fall, but full enforcement isn’t due until November 2026 — and the industry is still pushing back. Stopping hemp-derived THC products is imperative. Sign our petition to urge elected officials to put kids ahead of industry profit.