The Government Is Trying to Take Back Weed

"And yet, convenience stores across the country-even in states where marijuana is illegal-sell a trove of fizzy drinks, vape pens, and confections all promising to get you high. My neighborhood liquor store has an entire cooler full of weed drinks, including a seltzer aptly named Bong Water, a can of which has 25 milligrams of THC. About five milligrams of that chemical, which is the main psychoactive component in marijuana, will make the occasional weed user feel a light buzz."

"These products are available because Congress messed up. In 2018, it passed a bill that was meant to support farmers by allowing them to grow hemp-essentially, weed bred with minimal THC-for industrial uses such as paper, insulation, and even guitars. In the process, it also accidentally created a new industry of intoxicating hemp products that are virtually indistinguishable from those made using traditional marijuana, except for the fact that they're federally legal."

Hemp cultivated under a 2018 federal law can contain no more than 0.3 percent THC by dry weight, enabling manufacturers to create intoxicating hemp products while remaining federally legal. Convenience stores nationwide, including in states where marijuana remains illegal, sell drinks, vape pens, edibles, and other products with substantial THC doses—examples include seltzers with 25 milligrams per can and vape pens advertising thousands of milligrams. A 40-gram cookie can legally contain about 100 milligrams of THC and still meet the 0.3 percent threshold. Recent funding legislation would ban most THC products unless sold at licensed dispensaries, threatening the emerging hemp-intoxicant industry.

Read at The Atlantic