As governors from the nation’s two most populous states recently took executive action on curtailing the market for hemp-derived cannabinoid products, Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker said Sept. 17 that he’s ready to do the same.
In Illinois, where licensed dispensaries sold more than $2 billion in regulated cannabis last year, representing the third-largest adult-use market in the nation, Pritzker said during a press conference on Tuesday that products with intoxicating constituents from the hemp plant should be treated no differently.
Last year, the governor called on the Illinois Legislature to crack down on the state’s unregulated landscape for intoxicating hemp products, but state lawmakers have yet to answer.
Now, Pritzker’s willingness to take matters into his own hands follows recent executive actions in California, where Gov. Gavin Newsom issued emergency regulations in September 2024, and in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott issued an executive order earlier this month.
“I have advocated for new laws in the state of Illinois that would restrict the distribution of hemp-infused and THC-infused [products] from hemp, whether it’s drinks or gummies or candies,” Pritzker said this week. “And what we’ve got to do is get a handle on this. The Legislature was unwilling to do it.”
In December, the governor threw his support behind House Bill 4293, the Hemp Consumer Products Act, which aimed to require all products containing intoxicating cannabinoids to adhere to the same standards outlined in the state’s Cannabis Regulation and Tax Act, which Pritzker signed into law in June 2019 to legalize adult-use cannabis. The proposed hemp bill would have included requirements for licensing, testing, packaging and age-gating.
While the Senate voted, 54-1, to amend and pass H.B. 4293 last year, the House never acted.
More recently, the Illinois Legislature adjourned from its 2025 regular session in May without sending legislation on the matter to Pritzker’s desk, leaving intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoids on the shelves of smoke shops, gas stations and convenience stores in what has become known as the unintended consequences of the 2018 Farm Bill, which federally legalized commercial hemp cultivation.
“We’re now in continuing conversations with the advocates for the hemp industry,” Pritzker said. “But they’ve got to understand people are getting sick. Children are getting sick. Children are able to get a hold of this in a way that they shouldn’t. We have a regulated environment for cannabis. We should have a regulated environment for hemp, and I am pushing that.”
In December, Pritzker’s office drew attention to a FOX32 Chicago report that cited more than 9,000 cases of delta-8 THC poisonings since 2021 in the U.S., with 41% of the cases involving children. While delta-9 THC is the main naturally occurring intoxicating compound in cannabis, hemp product manufacturers often convert nonintoxicating CBD into intoxicating delta-8 THC through a synthetic chemical process.
Although the Illinois Legislature adjourned from its 2025 regular session, state lawmakers can still pass bills during their fall veto session, which is scheduled to run Oct. 14-30.
Whether hemp-related legislation materializes during the veto session, Pritzker indicated this week that he’s ready to rein in the unregulated THC marketplace through his office.
“If the Legislature and if the advocates for the hemp industry are unwilling to do it, then we will take executive action, because this should not be the case,” he said. “Now, the federal government actually is in a position to do this nationwide and should—hasn’t done it yet.”
While the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee unanimously approved a $27-billion funding bill in July, which included a provision to ban all hemp products containing synthetic compounds and/or quantifiable amounts of intoxicating cannabinoids, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., pushed back on the prohibition language, which was later stripped from the funding package.
Earlier this week, a group of eight U.S. Democratic senators sent party leaders a four-point regulatory proposal to include a framework to:
- restricts the sale and possession of hemp products to adults 21 or older;
- standardizes packaging and labeling to eliminate “look-alike” snack products that are appealing to children while allowing adult-only consumers to make informed choices;
- prohibits synthetic or artificially derived products (such as delta-8 THC); and
- requires independent third-party laboratory tests for consumable hemp-derived cannabinoid products to ensure safety.
However, the likelihood of Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., catering to the demands of the minority party is low.
While much of the debate centers on whether to prohibit or regulate hemp-derived cannabinoid products, federal inaction has left many states to adopt their own set of policies that are often subject to judicial review in the aftermath of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Pritzker said it shouldn’t be that way.
“The question is, are legislators at the national level being bought by people in the hemp industry, or what’s the reason?” he asked. “Why is it OK if children get sick from an unregulated substance that we know we could get a handle on?”
