A bin of THC edible products from Virginia stores is displayed by the state attorney general. While states continue to expand access to legal marijuana, a separate market of hemp-derived intoxicants has blossomed. (Photo by Graham Moomaw/Virginia Mercury)

A provision significantly limiting the sale of intoxicating hemp products made its way into legislation to reopen the federal government just a day before the Senate approved the bill. Its inclusion follows years of pressure from states and the marijuana industry.

While states continue to expand access to legal marijuana, a separate market of hemp-derived intoxicants has blossomed. The products, from drinks to gummies, are sold in gas stations and smoke shops. Critics say some companies have exploited a legal loophole from 2018 to manufacture products that get people high — without the safety regulations and taxes facing the legal marijuana industry.

That’s led dozens of states to limit or ban certain intoxicating hemp products. Most states also have pushed for federal changes, though some farm states worry the pending federal bill — which the House is expected to vote on as soon as today — goes too far.

A bipartisan group of 39 state attorneys general recently urged Congress to clarify the federal definition of hemp, arguing that the underregulated industry threatens public health and undermines law enforcement.

Texas lawmakers this year approved a strict ban on intoxicating hemp, but that measure was vetoed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. The governor raised constitutional concerns because federal law allowed the products, but he then issued an executive order increasing state agency regulations, including age restrictions.

This summer, Florida regulators seized tens of thousands of packages of hemp products that failed to meet new child protection standards, including child-resistant packaging, marketing restrictions and enhanced labeling rules. In Tallahassee, the state Senate approved a ban on hemp-derived THC products, including beverages, but that measure died in the state House. A similar effort last year was vetoed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who said it would harm small businesses.

Last month, California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation strengthening state enforcement of its ban on intoxicating hemp products. Similarly, Ohio Republican Gov. Mike DeWine declared an emergency last month in an executive order banning intoxicating hemp products for 90 days while lawmakers debate potential legislation.

Missouri hemp businesses fear new federal THC limits will destroy the industry

Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is the primary psychoactive component of the cannabis plant. The 39 state attorneys general argue manufacturers are manipulating hemp to produce synthetic THC that can be more intoxicating than marijuana.

“In this way, legal, nonintoxicating hemp is used to make Frankenstein THC products that get adults high and harm and even kill children,” the attorneys general wrote.

Hemp-derived gummies and beverages are sold without consistent age restrictions or labeling regulations and oftentimes resemble candy. During his announcement, DeWine showcased brightly packaged intoxicating hemp products that resembled name-brand candy products.

“Certainly, it’s easy to see how a child will confuse this product with real candy and eat a few gummy bears and ingest enough THC to require hospitalization,” he said, according to the Ohio Capital Journal.

Though it has faced mounting restrictions in the states, the hemp industry says the federal change poses an existential threat.

On Monday, the U.S. Hemp Roundtable said the legislation pending in Congress would wipe out 95% of the nation’s $28.4 billion hemp industry.

“The language will force patients, seniors and veterans who rely on hemp products to break federal criminal law to acquire them,” the trade group posted online.

Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the organization, said the industry has been pushing for regulation rather than outright prohibition. He acknowledged the problem of bad actors, but said those can be addressed with strong regulations like those that exist in Kentucky and Minnesota.

“These are good examples of states that have put together robust regulations. But we need to see that at the federal level, and we’ve been supporting legislation to do that for the last seven years,” he told Stateline.

Republican U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, Kentucky’s senior senator, said he included the hemp measure in the bill to close an unintended legal loophole and that the measure would still allow farmers to grow hemp for fiber, oil and drug trials.

But fellow Kentucky Republican U.S. Sen. Rand Paul said the move would “eradicate the hemp industry” and could override some state laws. Paul offered an amendment to remove the hemp provision but failed.

The hemp loophole

Hemp derives from the same cannabis species as marijuana, but is legally defined by its lower levels of THC, the psychoactive component of the plant.

While marijuana remains illegal under federal law, Congress sanctioned hemp in the 2018 farm bill to allow an agricultural market for hemp-based textiles, animal feeds and human wellness products centered on cannabidiol, or CBD, products. The farm bill allowed cultivation of hemp plants with a THC concentration of 0.3% or lower by dry weight.

But that threshold has become essentially meaningless, said Katharine Neill Harris, a fellow in drug policy at Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.

That’s because manufacturers have found ways to convert legal hemp plants into potent forms of synthetic marijuana. Aside from the potential of creating very strong products, she said the process requires the addition of solvents and other ingredients that raise many safety questions.

“With marijuana products, you can get some very potent products,” she said. “But the psychoactive components to THC are naturally occurring. It naturally occurs in that natural amount. You’re not doing a whole bunch of manipulation to increase the potency of the product and adding ingredients.”

Harris has tracked the growing number of states regulating the industry: Six states and the District of Columbia now ban all consumable hemp products with any amount of THC. In 24 states, intoxicating hemp products are permitted, though 15 of those states allow only low-potency products.

But even states with strict regulations still must contend with legal online markets.

“There’s a big part of that activity that you can’t control as a state when something is federally legal, and so that’s one thing that they’re asking for is federal leadership on this issue,” she said. “I think there is a big demand for some sort of industry standards.”

If approved by Congress and signed by the president, as expected, the new hemp legislation will likely have uneven impacts across the states.

For example, the change likely won’t dramatically alter the legal landscape in Alaska, where the regulators have banned all intoxicating hemp products. Marijuana businesses complain those products are still being sold, despite the ban.

But in a state like Nebraska, where lawmakers have been unsuccessful in limiting intoxicating hemp, the change could drastically alter both consumer access and business sales, depending on enforcement.

On Monday, Paul said the federal legislation would wipe away hemp regulations in many states, including Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine and Utah.

“The bill before us nullifies all these state laws,” he said.

‘Running with knives’

The hemp industry has argued that a lot of the opposition to it stems from marijuana businesses looking to protect their own markets, noting that campaigns for restrictions are often more organized in states that have legalized marijuana.

But producers of intoxicating hemp are looking for market access without the associated safety regulations and tax structures states have created for marijuana, argued Chris Lindsey, the director of state advocacy and public policy at the American Trade Association for Cannabis and Hemp, an organization representing the legal marijuana industry.

“They want to have some kind of regulatory framework that’s somehow different than the one that states already have [for marijuana],” he said.

His organization cheered the Senate’s efforts “to address the dangerous proliferation of unregulated synthetic THC products.”

Lindsey said hemp-derived products can contain contaminants, including pesticides. Many hemp products can be sourced cheaply overseas, he said, and with lax oversight, there is no system to recall tainted products here.

“To me, that’s like running with knives,” he told Stateline.

Floridians react to federal legislation that could ‘devastate’ state’s hemp industry

The Missouri Cannabis Trade Association recently purchased hemp products from gas stations and smoke shops from across the state to test them in an effort to show they need more regulation.

In its “Missouri Hemp Hoax Report,” the organization said independent testing found 53 of the 55 products purchased were actually intoxicating marijuana well above the legal limit of THC. Third-party lab results also showed some of the products contained pesticides and heavy metals.

Those results underscore that the products should face the same rules as legal marijuana does, said Andrew Mullins, president and executive director of the cannabis trade association. State law requires marijuana to be grown and manufactured in Missouri, mandates lab testing and allows for sales only at licensed dispensaries.

“In my mind, if it’s marijuana, which most of this is, then it should be regulated like marijuana,” Mullins said.

He said calling the unregulated products “hemp” is akin to someone selling whiskey and calling it corn: “Everybody is using hemp as a cover to basically sell intoxicating drugs.”

Mullins acknowledged the confusion among policymakers and law enforcement. But he said there are already laws — including those against trafficking marijuana without a license — that could help address the issue.

Catherine Hanaway, a Republican who was sworn in as Missouri’s new attorney general in September, has vowed action on unregulated hemp products, particularly THC beverages that are booming in popularity.

“Our focus is on the health and safety of Missourians,” James Lawson, her deputy chief of staff, told the Missouri Independent last month. “This is an unregulated industry that makes untested, unknown substances available to the public without any oversight, including children where we think it’s particularly detrimental.”

Stateline reporter Kevin Hardy can be reached at khardy@stateline.org.

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Dillon Beyer woke up Monday morning to a flurry of text messages.

A co-owner of Tree Huggers Cannabis, which is based in La Crosse with locations in Wisconsin and Minnesota, Beyer and his colleagues in Wisconsin’s hemp industry were beginning to learn that, tucked into the U.S. Senate bill to reopen the federal government, was a provision that could outlaw much of their industry.

That clause, inside the continuing resolution that the U.S. House approved and President Donald Trump signed Wednesday, would ban the “unregulated sale of intoxicating hemp-based or hemp derived products.”

That left Beyer “freaking out a little bit.” His company employs 25 people, developing and distributing drinks and other products that contain the psychoactive ingredient THC.

“It would force us to close our doors, because it would make all of the products that we sell noncompliant,” Beyer said ahead of the U.S. House’s vote.

In Wisconsin, where medical and recreational marijuana are illegal, a long-standing federal loophole has allowed one related industry to flourish.

The 2018 federal Farm Bill removed hemp from the list of controlled substances. As a result, products containing low doses of the psychoactive ingredient THC — like vapes, oils, gummies and beverages — are legal.

That’s true even in states like Wisconsin that don’t otherwise allow for other forms of marijuana production or sales.

Phillip Alberti is a research program manager specializing in hemp at an alternative crops lab at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He said hemp has wide uses beyond its connections to marijuana — for example, as an agricultural and fiber product.

But he said it’s unclear exactly how big the Wisconsin hemp industry is.

“I’ve been looking forever to find those numbers … because I really think it’s important at the university to understand the impacts. Then we can see where there might be a need,” said Alberti. “All I know is that I cannot go anywhere without seeing those products. I can’t go to breweries. I can’t go to gas stations.”

Overall nationwide, it’s a booming, multibillion-dollar industry — one that critics say is insufficiently regulated. They say it’s too easy for kids to get their hands on the products, which are sometimes packaged to look like fun snacks or candy, and that it should be treated the same as other forms of marijuana.

Supporters, including those in the industry, say these products offer an alternative to alcohol, or provide benefits like stress relief.

Alla Tsypin and Richard Bowman co-own RA! Wellness, a THC beverage company based in Madison. Tsypin said they welcome more regulation for their products, but they shouldn’t be banned.

“We should all be held to the same standard, as far as our ingredients, our (lab testing), our transparency, things like that,” she said. “But to take it away as a whole as an option for millions of people is pretty crappy.”

Wisconsin business owners say they’re figuring out next steps. The legislation gives companies 365 days to find themselves in compliance.

For Tsypin and Bowman, that’s a year to get over the “shock” and potentially pivot their business. They also hope that this sudden move will spark a conversation that will draw more public support for their industry — and potentially lead to changes in state or federal law.

“The biggest takeaway from all of this is, really, how much this has affected not only us, but also the families, the growers, the consumers, the people … that rely on this as medicine,” said Tsypin.

Beyer, of La Crosse, said he thought bad actors in an underregulated field have given his products a bad name. His company checks customers’ IDs, and packages their products in dark colors that make it clear they’re not for kids.  

He said he thinks the next year gives both industry workers and consumers time to push for bigger changes to the law — a vaster opportunity than the loophole they’ve worked within for years.

“We are confident, and we are hoping to work with our supply chain of distributors, retailers, our consumers to really raise awareness and sound the alarm,” he said.

‘It would force us to close our doors’: Law to end shutdown could disrupt Wisconsin’s THC, hemp industries is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Click here to read highlights from the story

• A year ago more than 80 people were sickened by pizza from Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton. Officials determined the pizza was contaminated with THC-infused oil. Since then one of them has filed a lawsuit against the pizzeria.

• Wisconsin is one of six states that don’t regulate or have plans to regulate THC, the psychoactive chemical found in marijuana, which is why incidents like Famous Yeti’s haven’t resulted in fines or penalties against the company.

• Efforts to regulate THC have been included in bills seeking to legalize marijuana, but while marijuana remains illegal, legal hemp-derived THC is being used in more and more products without additional consumer protections.

On Oct. 23, 2024, Samuel Hoffland stopped by Famous Yeti’s Pizza in Stoughton on his lunch break. What happened next is detailed in a previously unreported lawsuit he filed in May in Dane County claiming the restaurant was negligent when it contaminated his pizza with THC.

The lawsuit describes how Hoffland endured a multiple-hour ordeal to get home after feeling “abnormal symptoms associated with THC intoxication.” He crashed his car and ended up in the emergency room. His injuries led to lost work time and ongoing medical issues, according to the complaint.

Two tests a day apart confirmed Hoffland was experiencing THC intoxication. Over 80 people experienced similar symptoms, including 27 who went to the emergency room, some of whom reported concerns it was carbon monoxide poisoning, according to responses to Public Health Madison and Dane County’s final report obtained under the open records law.

In the weeks and months after the incident, the contamination created a stir online with a range of reactions. Some blamed Famous Yeti’s and expressed concern while other comments said “even more reason to eat them” and “who is complaining?” But for Hoffland, the experience was no joke, leading him to file a civil lawsuit against Famous Yeti’s and the owner of Turtle Crossing Cannabis, a company that shared kitchen space with the pizzeria.

Public Health Madison and Dane County investigated the incident and determined the food was mistakenly contaminated with THC oil from a bulk container (though the report doesn’t mention Turtle Crossing Cannabis). But the agency determined there was nothing it could do because Delta-9 THC, the chemical derived from hemp and used to make edible THC products, is not regulated in Wisconsin.

In other words, there are no laws or regulations prohibiting the preparation of THC and non-THC products in the same industrial kitchen.

Nearly a year later, that remains the case.

In Wisconsin, regulatory laws surrounding hemp-derived cannabis are lacking, creating gray areas that make it difficult to enforce any standards surrounding the production and distribution of THC-related products. Wisconsin is one of only six states, along with Alabama, Maine, New Mexico, North Carolina and West Virginia, that neither ban nor regulate or aren’t attempting to regulate Delta-8 THC.

The lack of regulation has put consumer safety at risk. The Famous Yeti’s Pizza incident is one example, but not the only incident. In June, two children in Milwaukee went to the hospital after their mother mistakenly purchased 600 mg of THC gummies from a convenience store. The shop owner received a warning letter, but didn’t receive a citation because the sale wasn’t illegal.

THC derived from hemp plant

Under the 2018 Farm Bill, the U.S. government authorized commercial hemp production and made it eligible for federal crop insurance. The intended purpose was to provide additional support for people in the agriculture industry.

Hemp under the Farm Bill was defined as cannabis with a tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) concentration of below 0.3% on a dry weight basis. THC is the psychoactive compound present in both hemp-derived and marijuana-derived cannabis. But marijuana-derived cannabis has a higher presence of THC and is federally illegal.

“Cannabis itself is actually the same product, whether it’s hemp-derived or marijuana,” Jason Hunt, CEO and general counsel of DynaVap, said. “Cannabis sativa is actually the product. It’s really the same plant, but it depends on when it’s harvested, as well as the concentration.”

Delta-8 and Delta-9 are similar variations of the same THC compound found in cannabis. Delta-9 is more commonly found in the marijuana plant, while Delta-8 is almost entirely found in hemp and is federally legal.

Delta-8 THC is found in low concentrations, so it is often chemically modified by concentrating Delta-8 from the hemp-derived cannabidiol, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

“They take a portion of the plant and they chemically modify it to make sure it’s more intoxicating, so it’s a synthesized cannabis product,” Hunt said.

So, how is hemp regulated?

In 2022, Wisconsin’s regulatory hemp program fully transitioned to the federal level, so now the regulatory authority falls under the U.S. Department of Agriculture. 

Instead, Wisconsin regulates products with hemp derivatives at the state level through the same laws that govern retail food establishments and food processors. Like other products, hemp-derived products are subject to Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection requirements for labeling, weights and measures, consumer safety, misrepresentations, and deceptive advertising.

The state only allows hemp that has been certified by DATCP or another state’s hemp program to be in food products, but food items or ingredients containing hemp manufactured and packaged outside of Wisconsin cannot be sold in Wisconsin. Wisconsin also has “truth in labeling” laws requiring all hemp products to be properly labeled. Knowingly making an inaccurate or misleading claim regarding hemp products is illegal under a state statute. 

Dane County Executive Melissa Agard, a Democrat who served in the Legislature for 12 years and authored bills to legalize recreational and medical marijuana, argues that legalization would lead to regulation.

“If we would pass a bill in regards to legalizing and regulating cannabis in Wisconsin, there would be a lot more consumer protections, whether you’re at a restaurant that might be serving cannabis-infused foods or a bar that’s selling cannabis-infused beverages, or at a corner store where you want to buy some edibles or some bud,” Agard said. “Right now, you’re just kind of taking people’s word for it. There’s no checks and balances, there’s no real accountability.”

Minnesota, where marijuana is now fully legal, also regulates hemp products including requiring all consumers to be at least 21 years of age.

In Michigan, only companies licensed through the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency can sell, distribute and manufacture hemp-derived Delta-8 products, and all customers must be 21.

Wisconsin has no specific age requirements for purchasing and ingesting hemp products. Instead, age requirements are left up to localities. 

Wood County was the first state locality to set an age restriction on purchasing hemp-related products in 2022. Milwaukee County set an age requirement in July after two children were left hospitalized after being sold THC gummies.

In February, Public Health Madison and Dane County expressed support for implementing an age restriction statewide. 

Without a statewide age restriction, many localities have not passed specific requirements, leaving those markets widely unregulated. 

In the Famous Yeti’s incident, eight people under 18 were reportedly intoxicated by cannabis oil, but without regulations, there were no citations. 

“There are no regulation requirements for products derived from the hemp plant,” Public Health Madison and Dane County said in a blog following the incident. “Unlike commercial tobacco, Public Health cannot issue citations for the sale or distribution of hemp-derived products to minors.”

No compensation for THC victims

The Famous Yeti’s Pizza incident shows the consequences of a lack of regulation.

Jason Tarasek, a Minnesota attorney who specializes in cannabis law, explained that people harmed by the contamination would likely need to show monetary consequences to win a lawsuit against the establishment.

“One of those people who were harmed could easily bring a negligence action against that restaurant because it’s a breach of your duty to act as a reasonable restaurant if you’re accidentally slipping THC to people,” Tarasek said.

According to responses to the public health department’s questionnaire accessed via an open records request, respondents did raise concerns about the monetary consequences of the contamination.

“I don’t think I should have to pay for my ambulance ride or my tests that I needed as a result of being drugged,” a female respondent said.

Another female respondent said she was going to have over $1,000 in hospital bills even after her insurance claim.

“The closer you get to pointing at a bill for money, the easier it is to get a judge or jury to award you that,” Tarasek said.

The civil lawsuit against Famous Yeti’s pizza relates to negligence on behalf of the restaurant. 

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Hoffland claims Famous Yeti’s breached its duty by “negligently preparing, handling, and serving food contaminated with THC” resulting in “physical illness, mental distress, and other injuries requiring medical attention and resulting in damages.” The civil lawsuit also claims Famous Yeti’s is strictly liable for Hoffland’s injuries and damages from consuming “THC-laced” food. 

In response to the complaint, Famous Yeti’s said it was not negligent in preparing the food nor at fault for the contamination, but admits the product unintentionally “contained” THC. The restaurant also denied the food was laced, which would imply the food was deliberately infused with THC.

“The contamination of the subject product was the result of an intervening cause not due to any negligence or fault on the part of the defendant,” Famous Yeti’s said in its response.

Currently, the civil lawsuit is still pending. Famous Yeti’s, Hoffland and their attorneys did not respond to a request for comment.

Current status of regulation attempts

Wisconsin’s lack of cannabis regulations continues to leave consumers in the dark when they purchase hemp-derived THC products in Wisconsin.

Gov. Tony Evers has attempted to regulate cannabis in multiple budget cycles, the most recent being the 2025-27 biennium. The marijuana-related provisions would have legalized and set regulatory standards for marijuana. 

Evers’ budget recommendations included a section that would have started a program within DATCP to regulate the cultivation, production and distribution of marijuana requiring all producers and processors to hold a permit from DATCP.

The provision would have also set more stringent requirements, such as requiring all purchasers of THC products be 21 or older and banning production or distribution of cannabis near schools, playgrounds, public parks or child care facilities. If passed, it would have also established a training program under DATCP for proper handling of cannabis. 

But Republicans removed the provision from the budget bill early in the process. 

In 2024, Republicans, who have been otherwise reluctant to support marijuana legalization, introduced a bill to legalize and regulate medical marijuana in Wisconsin, specifically through heavily regulated state dispensaries. The bill was sponsored by 19 Republicans, including Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, but failed to pass the Legislature. It would not have regulated THC products derived from hemp.

This story was produced in partnership with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Investigative Journalism class taught in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Legal loopholes in Wisconsin cannabis laws leave consumers vulnerable is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Peer-reviewed research found links between marijuana use and psychosis – the loss of contact with reality, experienced as delusions or hallucinations.

The consensus is there is a clear association, but more research is needed to determine if  there is causation.

That’s according to the Journal of Cannabis Research editor, researchers at the Institute of Cannabis Research and a review of 32 studies that reviewed research. 

The institute’s Jeff Smith said most cannabis users don’t develop psychosis.

Research samples:

Lifetime use is associated with increased odds of psychosis, especially among daily or weekly users. 

Psychotic disorders are 11 times more likely among adolescent users than non-users.

Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who represents most of northern Wisconsin, called for more research on the link to inform legalization policy. 

Marijuana for recreational use is legal in 24 states. In May, Republicans nixed a Wisconsin legalization proposal.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.

Sources

• National Institute of Mental Health: Understanding Psychosis
• Dr. David Gorelick, University of Maryland psychiatry professor and Journal of Cannabis Research editor-in-chief: Interview
• Institute of Cannabis Research at Colorado State University Pueblo: director and chemistry professor Chad Kinney; and strategic partnership and outreach specialist and biology professor Jeff Smith: Interview
• Psychiatry Research journal: A systematic evidence map of the association between cannabis use and psychosis-related outcomes across the psychosis continuum: An umbrella review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses
• Psychological Medicine journal: The impact of schizophrenia genetic load and heavy cannabis use on the risk of psychotic disorder in the EU-GEI case-control and UK Biobank studies
• Psychological Medicine journal: Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder
• Scientific American: The Link between Cannabis and Psychosis in Teens Is Real
• YouTube: Congressman Tom Tiffany Joins DrydenWire Live
• CoverCannabis.com: Marijuana Laws by State for 2025. Where is Marijuana Legal?
• Associated Press: Wisconsin Republicans kill marijuana legalization and tax increases for millionaires

Is there evidence linking marijuana use to psychosis? is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.