As Congress enters its lame-duck session, we’ve been deeply concerned about efforts to rush through the SAFER Banking Act (S. 2860) without adequate safeguards. While proponents argue this legislation is needed to protect marijuana businesses and their employees, the current version lacks critical safeguards against the dangerous health risks posed by unregulated, high-potency THC products. If banking legislation is truly about safety, it must include comprehensive measures for consumer protection and the safety of our nation’s children and young people, or it shouldn’t be considered at all.
We’ve been contacting Congressional leadership, stressing that any marijuana banking legislation must include adequate product parameters and youth safeguards. We need thoughtful regulation that reflects the dramatic innovations in the marijuana marketplace. Rushing this legislation through in the final days of this Congress would be dangerously short-sighted.
Breaking New Ground: TeaonTHC.org Education Campaign
A groundbreaking new public awareness campaign from the University of Colorado’s School of Public Health has just been released, aimed at addressing the critical information gap about high-potency THC products. TeaonTHC.org will be the first comprehensive effort to educate young people under 25 and those pregnant or breastfeeding about the dangers surrounding today’s cannabis products. Initial surveys reveal that the primary difference between users and non-users isn’t age or previous experience but access to accurate information about the potential risks and harms and access to skills and tools to help prevent and reduce use. This exciting new campaign will focus on those three key areas: 1. understanding the risks and harms, 2. developing confidence to refuse use in social situations, and 3. building healthy coping strategies for stress.
Beyond information sharing, TeaonTHC.org will provide practical tools for parents and mentors and specific strategies for young people navigating social situations. The campaign has already generated powerful responses through preliminary outreach, including an art exhibit featuring young people’s artwork depicting THC’s impact on their families.
Growing Public Concern: Election Results Show Shifting Views on Marijuana Commercialization
We are witnessing a significant shift in how Americans view marijuana commercialization. Voters across multiple states pushed back against unrestricted commercialization, signaling growing concern about public health and safety impacts.
Florida, North Dakota, and South Dakota all saw proposals for marijuana legalization fail. In Florida, a proposed amendment aimed at legalizing recreational marijuana was heavily supported by the cannabis industry, which invested around $150 million in campaign efforts. Still, public sentiment did not favor the measure.
Similarly, in North Dakota a late ad campaign from the pro-marijuana advocacy group, New Economic Frontier, asked “Would you throw away millions of dollars? That’s what North Dakota is doing right now. While our neighbors are raking in cannabis tax revenue, we’re left empty-handed.” It failed to resonate with the electorate. In South Dakota, voters opted against Measure 29. And in Massachusetts, voters rejected the Natural Psychedelic Substances Act, which would have legalized substances like psilocybin and DMT for therapeutic use despite being outspent by more than 10-to-1.
Emerging Public Awareness of a Changing Industry:
Why this shift now? Because families and communities are experiencing the negative impacts of today’s ultra-potent THC products firsthand. The marijuana industry has changed dramatically, and people are becoming increasingly aware that today’s products bear little resemblance to the marijuana of the past. When marijuana from the 1980’s and 90’s contained less than 4% THC, today’s products often exceed 20% in flower form and 60% in concentrates with some even reaching 99%!
This dramatic increase in potency has brought a surge in adverse health impacts, including psychosis, schizophrenia, cannabis hyperemesis syndrome (uncontrolled vomiting), and cannabis use disorder (or marijuana addiction). These stories are increasingly being told, including tragic stories about teenage use and accidental ingestion of THC products by small children, and more people are taking notice.
The Hemp Industry Crisis: An Urgent Call for Federal Action:
As we’ve been tracking for some time, an unintended loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill has created a public health crisis by allowing dangerous psychoactive hemp products to proliferate across our communities. Even states with stronger marijuana regulations have been unable to control these products, which are being sold across the country at gas stations, convenience stores, and online without proper oversight or safeguards.
The situation is particularly alarming because there are no requirements for product standards and safety, including age-gating and adequate testing, labeling, and warnings. People, including children, are purchasing these products without understanding their potency and potentially severe health effects. The hemp industry has exploited the Farm Bill’s focus on raw material THC content (0.3% by dry weight) rather than finished product concentration, creating highly potent products that technically comply with the law while circumventing its intent.
The Bipartisan Response to the Hemp-derived THC Crisis:
Twenty-one state attorneys general from across the political spectrum have united to demand congressional action. These law enforcement leaders describe these products as “nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children—with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, [and] no oversight…”
The Miller Amendment (proposed by Mary Miller, R-IL and Doug LaMalfa R-CA) offers a promising solution by redefining hemp to exclude synthetic and semi-synthetic cannabinoids that mimic delta-9 THC. This targeted response would address the current crisis while protecting legitimate hemp industry development and needs our sustained support. The bipartisan nature of this concern underscores the urgency for comprehensive federal action on this dangerous yet unintended psychoactive hemp loophole.
The Path Forward: Comprehensive Federal Regulation
The current patchwork of state regulations has proven insufficient to protect public health, particularly regarding high-potency THC products. We need consistent national standards that establish clear parameters while allowing states and localities to implement additional protections, including prohibiting commercial sales where desired.
These standards must include meaningful THC potency and concentration limitations, standardized warning labels, and comprehensive packaging requirements. Products must clearly disclose harmful substances and include child-resistant packaging and visible health warnings. Additionally, strict dosage and serving size limits are crucial to prevent accidental overconsumption.
Most importantly, we need a unified approach that regulates all THC products, regardless of their source. Whether derived from marijuana, hemp, or created synthetically, all psychoactive THC products that are permitted to be sold commercially should face the same rigid safety standards and oversight. The lessons from Colorado and other states make clear that anything less puts kids and public health at risk.
Moving Forward Together: The Time for Action is Now
The shifting public sentiment reflected in recent elections, combined with mounting evidence of health impacts and the current regulatory crisis, creates both an opportunity and an obligation to act. We’ve reached a critical moment where the public increasingly understands the risks of today’s high-potency products, state law enforcement officials are demanding action, and concrete solutions like the Miller Amendment are ready for implementation.
Yet we must remain vigilant. The marijuana industry—now joined by big tobacco and alcohol companies looking to seize on the financial windfalls unregulated hemp products pose—is pushing for rapid, widespread nationwide sales without adequate safeguards, as we’re seeing with the SAFER Banking Act. Our position remains clear: we support criminal justice reforms to address legitimate social justice issues, but we cannot sacrifice public health and create even more inequities and social justice harms in the process.
As we continue our advocacy work, we need your continued support and engagement. Together, we can ensure that protecting our nation’s youth and our most vulnerable populations remains at the forefront of marijuana policy decisions. The health and safety of our communities depend on it.
