A new bill could make it easier for the federal government to regulate legal hemp products and keep them out of the reach of Americans under 21.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) introduced a new bill Wednesday called the Cannabinoid Safety Regulation Act.
The bill would make it illegal to market and sell products containing intoxicating cannabinoids, such as THC, to minors and U.S. adults under the age of 21.
The bill also requires the Food and Drug Administration and the Bureau of Liquor, Tobacco, and Trade to develop rules for testing and labeling legal cannabis-derived products for adult use.
“Marijuana prohibition has never kept marijuana out of the hands of children,” the bill says. “Strong regulation can deter unregulated markets and prohibit the sale of unsafe products, while providing safe and reliable options for consumers.”
Congress legalized hemp, or cannabis, with less than 0.3 percent delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the compound primarily responsible for the plant's psychoactive effects, in the 2018 Farm Bill.
However, the bill did not include a regulatory framework that would exempt plant products from testing and packaging requirements.
As a result, children have easy access to hemp-derived products containing THC, such as CBD gummies and vapes.
Due to concerns about minors accessing addictive THC products, California earlier this week issued an emergency ban on hemp products containing any amount of THC. The move comes less than three weeks after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a temporary ban on the product.
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