Washington, DC— Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) today welcomed a letter from 35 state attorneys general urging congressional leaders to reject any last-minute effort to delay, repeal, suspend, or weaken the November 2025 redefinition of “hemp.” SAM helped lead the effort to secure the attorneys general’s signatures as it continues to lead the fight against intoxicating hemp-derived THC products.
The August 4 letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Appropriations leaders Rep. Tom Cole and Sen. Susan Collins comes as Sen. Tedd Budd (R-N.C.) prepares to introduce an amendment to the continuing resolution that would strike the provision delaying the hemp-derived THC ban.
“Thirty-five attorneys general from across the political spectrum are now telling Congress exactly what we have been saying: don’t steal defeat from the jaws of victory,” said Dr. Kevin Sabet, president of SAM and a former advisor to three White House administrations.
“The Senate already voted to ban hemp intoxicants for America’s kids 76 to 24. Now a handful of members are doing Big Hemp’s bidding on a spending bill, in a place where no one has to cast a vote or explain themselves to the parents whose kids ended up in emergency rooms. A four-year-old in Virginia died after eating delta-8 gummies. That is what this provision keeps on the shelf. We beat this last year, and with the nation’s top law enforcement officers standing with families, we will beat it again.”
The attorneys general specifically urged Congress to reject “any effort to delay, repeal, suspend, or weaken” the redefinition. They warned that if the loophole is reopened or the definition is weakened, states will face renewed litigation, inconsistent enforcement, regulatory uncertainty, increased youth access to intoxicating products, and disruption of lawful businesses that have already moved to comply.
“Equally as concerning,” they wrote, “change at this stage would allow the return of unregulated intoxicating cannabis products that Congress appropriately chose to address.”
Sabet made the same case in a recent Washington Examiner op-ed, warning that delaying the ban would keep the same intoxicating THC products linked to child poisonings and fatalities on store shelves for months longer. SAM condemned the buried appropriations provision earlier this week, calling it the first attempt at a full repeal of the ban the Senate overwhelmingly approved last November.
The 35 Attorneys General and Chief Legal Officers Who Signed the Letter
Arkansas: Tim Griffin
Arizona: Kris Mayes
California: Rob Bonta
Connecticut: William Tong
Delaware: Kathy Jennings
Hawaii: Anne E. Lopez
Illinois: Kwame Raoul
Indiana: Todd Rokita
Iowa: Brenna Bird
Kansas: Kris Kobach
Louisiana: Liz Murrill
Maine: Aaron Frey
Maryland: Anthony G. Brown
Mississippi: Lynn Fitch
Missouri: Catherine Hanaway
Nebraska: Mike Hilgers
Nevada: Aaron D. Ford
New Hampshire: John Formella
New Jersey: Jennifer Davenport
New Mexico: Raúl Torrez
New York: Letitia A. James
North Dakota: Drew Wrigley
Ohio: Andy Wilson
Oklahoma: Gentner Drummond
Pennsylvania: Dave Sunday
Rhode Island: Peter F. Neronha
South Carolina: Alan Wilson
South Dakota: Marty Jackley
Tennessee: Jonathan Skrmetti
Utah: Derek Brown
Vermont: Charity R. Clark
Virginia: Jay Jones
West Virginia: John B. McCuskey
Wyoming: Keith Kautz
U.S. Virgin Islands: Gordon C. Rhea
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