As fierce debate over President Trump’s "Big, Beautiful Bill" continues to consume Capitol Hill, an overlooked spending provision recently approved by the budgeteers of the U.S. House deserves bipartisan praise for helping combat the nation’s gas station heroin epidemic.
In late June, the House Appropriations Committee passed the fiscal year 2026 spending proposal put forward by the Subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies — which includes a long-sought stipulation to close the so-called "hemp loophole."
The subcommittee measure aims to correct a legal gray area created by the 2018 Farm Bill and slow the spread of Gas Station Heroin in American communities.
Among these dangerous, lab-made substances are drugs like tianeptine and nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas;" oxidative, semi-synthetic alkaloid products such as 7 and Pseudo; and intoxicating hemp products such as Delta-8, Delta-9, Delta-10, and HHC.
At issue here is this latter category of intoxicating hemp and its legal classification:
According to the 2018 Farm Bill, the federal government defines hemp as cannabis and its derivatives with no more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis.
Under current law, this definition permits the manufacture and distribution of products containing non-Delta-9 intoxicating cannabinoids — including Delta-8, Delta-10, and HHC — as long as Delta-9 content remains below the statutory threshold.
The narrow standards of the 2018 Farm Bill have resulted in a regulatory loophole exploited by manufacturers and retailers of intoxicating, hemp-derived products sold in convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops across the country.
These chemically altered, highly concentrated products rake in significant revenue for the international gas station heroin syndicate, a multi-billion-dollar enterprise exploiting legal loopholes to drive addiction and profit while endangering Americans.
That’s why the latest U.S. House action is so important: It would rewrite the definition of hemp to exclude any "hemp-derived cannabinoid product" containing cannabinoids not naturally biosynthesized by the plant.
The new definition would also exclude such products containing naturally occurring cannabinoids that were chemically synthesized or altered outside the plant — as well as those containing quantifiable amounts of THC, THCA, or any other cannabinoid with intoxicating effects comparable to THC.
This legislation would mark the most consequential federal intervention in cannabinoid policy since 2018, preempting and superseding a growing patchwork of state laws by establishing a uniform federal prohibition on synthetically manipulated and intoxicating hemp derivatives.
Critically, the subcommittee measure underscores that natural botanicals aren’t the same as harmful synthetic substances.
Although whole plant products have been used safely for centuries, bad actors are now isolating basic compounds from leaves and chemically altering them in labs to create hyper-potent drugs that are poisoning consumers.
These synthetic drugs and their base materials are illegally imported, illegally sold, and illegally marketed toward minors and vulnerable populations, masquerading as copycat snacks, knockoff prescription opioids, supplements, and other novelty products.
The consequences have been devastating: Drug overdose is the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18 to 45, and FDA Commissioner Marty Makary recently signaled a renewed focus by the agency on fighting synthetic substances.
At a moment when Washington seems to produce nothing but partisan rancor, congressional lawmakers have a real opportunity to take a stand against the gas station heroin epidemic — and that starts with redefining hemp on the federal level.
John Burnett is the host of the First Edition Show on Newsmax2. He is an adjunct assistant professor at New York University and the founder of 1 Empire Group. Read John Burnett's Reports — More Here.