Authorizing the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold hearings concerning the sale of unregulated substances, such as Delta-8 and Kratom, in the City of Philadelphia.

Authorizing the Committee on Commerce and Economic Development to hold hearings concerning the sale of unregulated substances, such as Delta-8 and Kratom, in the City of Philadelphia. WHEREAS, Unregulated substances have flooded our communities, putting public health and safety at risk; and WHEREAS, Hemp-derived substances, such as Delta-8 and Delta-9, exist in a gray legal area following the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill. These substances are sold in many forms, including food items, but the lack of regulation makes the potency of the product and its safety unknowable to the consumer; and WHEREAS, Recent reporting by The Philadelphia Inquirer found that hemp-derived products often have toxic chemicals, and due to a lack of safe production, can have mold and other contaminants. They also found that the products potency was hundreds to thousands of times above the legal limit for Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), making these products dangerously strong; and WHEREAS, Many of these hemp-derived products are sold as food products, including chips and candy, and are deliberately designed to mirror common snacks and geared toward children. Since hemp-derived products and legal marijuana have expanded, The New York Times reported that according to America’s Poison Centers, there were more than 22,000 cannabis-related poisonings in 2024 and 75% involved children or teenagers. The article details a story of a parent who accidentally purchased a snack laced with hemp-derived product for the…