“I want to stop kids from buying drugs that look like candy. I say these drugs are very bad for kids. I don't want them sold in stores. I will keep fighting to stop this. I want parents to know I am on their side. I want to change the law to stop this.”
Official Congressional Record
Mr. President, every parent in America, they want the same thing. They want to know that their kids are safe. As U.S. Senators, each of us has a responsibility to the millions of parents we represent for the safety and welfare of American kids first. And that is exactly why--just 9 months ago on this very floor--76 Members of this body voted to close the hemp loophole that allowed these dangerous substances to be sold in unregulated retail stores. But since last November, the intoxicating hemp industry has attempted to delay our effort to close this dangerous loophole. May I show you some of the products that you can find in some of these stores? It looks like a familiar brand, but if you look closely--well, sometimes they use the brand name. But how about something like Slizzles? Pretty deceptive. You know, these companies want to continue selling these intoxicating THC substances loosely labeled as hemp products. They want to put them on the shelves of local convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores nationwide. And the problem doesn't stop there. The packaging is unmistakably designed to appeal to kids. Using these bright colors, they intentionally mimic popular snack food and candy brands like this. But what is most concerning is how easy it is for a child to walk into a convenience store and pick up what looks like their favorite snack or their favorite candy without realizing that they are actually buying an intoxicating substance. See a familiar--what might be a familiar brand here, but it is Stoneo. How about that? So it is difficult enough for an adult to distinguish the minor difference on these name-brand products and intoxicating substances on the shelves. I mean, just look at the examples. So are you telling me that this is not intentional? You know, the four basic principles of marketing are product, price, place, and promotion. And what we are looking at right here, it is a crash course in all four: how to package a product; how to make it appealing; how to put it in front of consumers; and how to promote it, while attempting to evade Federal law. You know, this is not some innocent coincidence. You don't accidentally create packaging for an intoxicating substance that bears a strange resemblance to a recognizable brand. You don't accidentally make an intoxicating product look something like a child would recognize from a grocery store shelf without reasonable intent. Now this is marketing by design, and it is designed--it is designed-- to evade the law. The resemblance here is absolutely outrageous, and it is putting our kids at risk each and every day. And over the past few years, we have already seen the horrifying consequences play out in emergency rooms across the country. From 2018 to 2023, emergency departments in the United States that responded to pediatric cannabis poisoning increased by 461 percent; 91 percent of those patients were 4 years or younger--91 percent. And 45 percent of those kids--ages zero to 11--45 percent of them required hospitalization. These numbers, they are not just statistics. They represent children ending up in emergency rooms--45 percent of them. And why? Because the intoxicating hemp industry wants to make a cheap dollar. Now, in my home State of North Carolina, cannabis consumption-coded emergency department visits among minors, they increased by 969 percent between 2017 and 2025. That is almost 1,000 percent increase, and that is nothing short of alarming. THC can have very serious consequences for adults. It can trigger psychosis, addiction, manic episodes, bipolar relapse, depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation. And having assessed those risks, it makes it utterly irresponsible to turn around and put those same THC substances within reach of our kids. It is also impacting our workforce. Able-bodied adults, they are unable to hold jobs that require them to take a drug test. Stores near military bases sell these products to men and women in the armed services, making them ineligible for military service. And that is also no accident. I can't tell you how many times that I have sat down with a family in my office that has tragically lost a son or a daughter because they became addicted to these disguised substances, and it is just heartbreaking to witness. It is heartbreaking to have those conversations, and, yet, they keep coming to my office. We keep hearing their stories. There are young people who no longer walk this Earth. They will never graduate. They will never go to college. They will never start a career. They will never get married. They will never have children. And they will never get the chance to experience the life that was ahead of them because these dangerous substances robbed them of their future. And I am appalled at the well-oiled, slick lobbying machine--which is very well connected in this town, by the way--that has chosen to wage this surreptitious war against our efforts to protect American children. So let me be clear to my colleagues. I am not going to back down on this. I am not going to waver. I am not going to stop until this life- threatening loophole is closed permanently. And we are going to have this fight before the end of this Congress, and I can assure you that I am not going to stop fighting to protect American children. And I have already had numerous conversations with the White House about this issue, and I am willing to have a larger conversation about marijuana. We may not agree, but I will have the conversation. But I want to make one thing really, really clear: Making THC intoxicating substances readily accessible to our kids is an entirely different issue from the medical marijuana movement. Today, we are talking about unregulated hemp products being sold on the shelves of nearly every corner store in America. These intoxicating substances--they are hiding in plain sight, and they are putting our kids at risk. Parents should never have to face the fear that sending their child into a convenience store for a snack or a treat could mean that that child walks out with a product that can get them high. And that is not too much to ask. It is just common sense. And it is our responsibility to make sure that the millions of parents that we represent--that they can trust the product sitting on store shelves, that they are safe for their kids. I am not here to obstruct the Senate for the sake of obstruction. I am here because I have a duty to the millions of parents in North Carolina who have sent me to Washington to be their voice and, above all, to protect their children. To every parent in North Carolina: I hear you. I stand with you. You have my word I am not going to back down, and I am not going to stop fighting until we get this right. This is a public health crisis that deserves this Senate's immediate attention. Our children should never be the testing ground for an industry willing to exploit a loophole in Federal law for profit. We need to strip this amendment from the continuing resolution and regulate these harmful substances for exactly what they are, not what the industry wants to call it. So if substances cause intoxication--like marijuana--then it should be regulated as such, not given a free pass as hemp. There is no loophole worth putting a child's well-being at risk. I yield the floor.
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