Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) joined 38 other Attorneys General in signing a letter Friday that calls on Congress to close the so-called "hemp loophole," a provision in the 2018 Farm Bill that cannabis advocates say as harmed public health and the legal weed industry. The loophole in question legalized the cultivation and sale of products containing less than 0.3 percent THC Delta 9, the primary psychoactive ingredient in traditional cannabis. However, the legalization of "hemp" paved the way for innumerable scams, workarounds, THC products made from hemp oil converted into intoxicating ingredients, as well as organized crime rackets selling illicitly grown cannabis under the guise of hemp.
In a letter to the chairs of the congressional appropriations and agriculture committees, the attorneys general said the products — including forms like delta-8, delta-10, THC-O, THCP and HHC — are created by chemically manipulating hemp and are often more psychoactive than marijuana, a Schedule I controlled substance.
Because "hemp" and its derivatives are federally legal, these products can legally be shipped across state lines, whereas traditional cannabis products cannot. That means intoxicants made from hemp oil can be sold to a much larger market, including in states where cannabis is illegal, giving hemp producers and hemp intoxicant sellers a massive advantage over legal cannabis businesses operating in Maine.
"We ask that Congress clarify the federal definition of hemp during the Fiscal Year 2026 appropriations process or through the reauthorization of the Farm Bill to leave no doubt that these harmful products are illegal and that their sale and manufacture are criminal acts," the attorneys general wrote.
Read more at Maine Wire
