As overdose deaths and ruined lives pile up, there is growing outcry in the U.S. over the massive spread of intoxicating hemp and cannabinoid products, colloquially known as “gas station weed,” as well as highly potent “natural” opioids like kratom. Experts say the unregulated drugs must be reined in before the public health crisis widens further.

A slew of intoxicating drink, gummy, and vape products that contain the synthetic cannabinoid delta-8 THC, which is derived from the hemp plant, have been filling the shelves of gas stations, vape shops, and convenience stores since 2019. With names like Zexi, Crank Cannabis THC Shot, Keef Bubba Kush Root Beer, Trainwreck, and Blueberry Cookies, the products are advertised as “fast-acting” alcohol alternatives with “dialed-in dosing.”

But adverse health effects from the products have begun to multiply at blinding speed. U.S. Poison Centers have reported a 225% increase in delta-8 related exposure cases (9,360) since January 2021, with almost half involving accidental exposure to children. In addition, the vast majority of hemp-derived THC products have been found to have delta-9 THC levels far above the 0.3% federal limit.

Experts like Luke Niforatos, who serves as executive vice president of Smart Approaches to Marijuana, say that manufacturers of the products have exploited a loophole of the largely unregulated hemp plant to build a booming industry valued at almost $30 billion.

“[T]he nefarious elements that are out there figured out how to extract dummy marijuana hemp-derived intoxicants like delta-8, delta-10, THC-0, and all the other kinds of products that we’re hearing about right now, and they’ve been proliferating them over the last seven years that it’s been since that loophole came into being,” he explained during “Washington Watch” Tuesday. “That was never Congress’s intention to legalize these drugs. … [T]hey are being sold over the counter. They are being sold in gas stations and convenience stores, and they’re extremely harmful. This is a brand-new class of drugs. They look like marijuana, but there’s a lot more to them that we don’t know. What we do know is that a child in Virginia died after using one of these products. So they’re literally deadly. We know that there [are] tens of thousands of kids who are being poisoned by these products across the country right now.”

Congress responded by closing the loophole last November. But on Tuesday, the House delayed the ban’s implementation by passing a short-term government funding package known as a continuing resolution (CR) with bipartisan support that will fund the government through December 11. Among the 19 Republicans who voted against the measure were Reps. Chip Roy (Texas), Andy Harris (Md.), Pete Sessions (Texas), and Clay Higgins (La.), who voiced their opposition to the CR over the highly controversial provision that delayed the implementation of a ban on intoxicating hemp products until December.

Niforatos noted that the delay was successful because “the hemp industry started lobbying everyone. They got the ear of the White House. They got the ear of some key people in leadership.”

He further emphasized that “the industry is getting away with very irresponsible messaging. They’re marketing marijuana and these hemp-derived products as harmless. They’re marketing them as medicine, even though the science shows that they make every ailment worse. These marijuana products are being advertised as [if] they would help veterans with PTSD, even though what we’ve learned is that they actually make veteran PTSD worse, they give them more suicidal thoughts, they make their lives worse, and yet they’re being pushed as medicine for our veterans. And that's just one of the horrible myths that’s being pushed by these industries.”

“[W]e need more people to stand up, more members of Congress to stand up to this industry, because right now we’re seeing billions of dollars [flow] into D.C. right now, flowing into PACs, flowing into super PACs, flowing into campaign accounts,” Niforatos underscored. “… Lobbyists are getting bought up by these industries. And at some point, the voice of the people, of our families, of our kids needs to weigh much more strongly with our members and with the people that are elected than the industry and the money that they have.”

But it’s not just intoxicating hemp products that have slipped under the government’s radar. Dean Francis, president of End Kratom Addiction Work, is also sounding the alarm about another drug advertised as “natural” that is creating havoc on public health.

“[K]ratom is a leaf that grows on trees in Southeast Asia, and for a long time, field laborers in those countries [would] grab a leaf and chew on it, and [it would] give them a little bit of a stimulant during the day,” he detailed during “Washington Watch” Tuesday. “… [B]ut here in America, … an industry has taken those leaves in mass quantities, dried them, and then crushed them into powder, and in some cases, liquids. And when you do that, you create a major, major problem. Kratom, when it is actually metabolizing inside of the body, is converting into an opioid that the FDA says is stronger than morphine. And so, it’s highly addictive. It is very dangerous.”

“Yet, across America in lots of smoke shops … and of course, online, this is easily accessed by people,” Francis observed. “And it’s sold as a plant-based herbal supplement that could improve your focus and energy and all these positive things. It looks harmless on the outside, but it’s converting in the body to an opioid, and you end up with literally tens of thousands of lives now that are just wrecked by opioid addiction. And worse, you have thousands now that have died from overdose.”

Between 2020 and 2024, the CDC recorded 5,200 fatal overdoses in which kratom was detected.

Francis went on to share the tragic consequences that kratom had for his son Cameron. “In 2017, [he] was running track and cross country at Liberty University as a Division I athlete at a very, very high level. He was near a four-minute mile, and he saw advertised online a kratom product that said [it] would help with energy and focus. And because it was ‘plant-based’ — that’s how it was advertised — he thought he was taking a supplement.”

After three months of use, Francis described, his son entered a downward spiral in which he quit school, moved back home, and entered into “complete” depression. While trying to withdraw from the drug, Cameron had to be rushed to the hospital after saying “he thought he was going to die. … [T]he rest of the story takes the next eight years. He lost his 20s. If you know anything about opioid addiction, there’s a lot of relapse.”

Niforatos concluded by urging more public awareness about slickly marketed cannabinoid and opioid products that are slipping through legal loopholes and ruining and taking lives in the process. “[W]e need people to speak up. We need more education, and we need real leadership in Congress to shut these drugs down because they’re illegal. They need to stay that way.”