Op-Ed: Common Ground on Hemp—A Call to Protect Kids and Fix Washington – For once, Illinois and Texas are on the same page. Believe it or not, Gov. JB Pritzker and Gov. Greg Abbott, two prominent governors who seldom see eye-to-eye, have landed in rare agreement on a clear and present danger: intoxicating hemp products being sold to kids in gas stations, corner stores, and neighborhood shops with no guardrails. I credit the Tribune and other newspapers and media outlets for bringing all of this to the forefront.
This is not about partisanship. It’s about public health, common sense, and the safety of our children. Anyone who has walked into a store recently has seen them—brightly packaged gummies and sodas that look like candy, vape pens that look like tech gadgets, and even other ingestible products marketed as harmless. In reality, they pack intoxicating levels of THC. No ID required. No restrictions. That is reckless, and Illinois families know it.
Here in Antioch, we did not wait to act. Our Village became a leader in passing the first local ban on these dangerous products—because we could not sit back while children were being targeted with candy-coated intoxicants and vape devices disguised as consumer goods. That decision was not about politics; it was about responsibility.
And it raises a deeper question: why did Illinois go through a rigorous process to license dispensaries, take application fees in an equity-based program designed to give opportunities to those historically left behind, and then allow this hemp loophole to flourish to their detriment? Licensed dispensary owners followed the rules, invested heavily, and played by the book. Meanwhile, gas stations and smoke shops are allowed to sell intoxicating gummies, sodas, vape pens, and other ingestible products to kids with no oversight. That is not fair, it is not safe, and it undermines the very intent of equity in cannabis reform.
I respect legislative debate, but paralysis has a cost. This spring, our General Assembly had the chance to act and failed. That’s why Gov. Pritzker is right to consider executive action if lawmakers will not. Texas Gov. Abbott already did. That two governors from opposite ends of the political spectrum are warning of the same risks should tell us this isn’t left or right—it’s simply responsible. On this, I stand firmly with Gov. Pritzker: these products should be banned statewide.
But let’s go further. The real root of this problem is Washington. The 2018 Farm Bill cracked open a loophole for these products, and Congress has failed to close it. As a recent Chicago Tribune editorial suggested: ‘Here’s a thought. Wouldn’t it be refreshing to see these two political foes travel to Washington, D.C., and together lobby Congress to fix the unintended legislative loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that allowed for the manufacture of these synthetic drugs in the first place?”
For decades, the Farm Bill was proof that bipartisan compromise could work—feeding the hungry, supporting farmers, investing in rural and urban America alike. Now it sits in gridlock. If we can’t pass a Farm Bill that keeps intoxicating hemp out of children’s hands, what does that say about the state of our union?
It’s time for leaders to step up. To remember that public service is not about party lines, but about protecting people. And to show that in America, when the health of our kids is on the line, we can still find common ground.
Op-Ed: Common Ground on Hemp—A Call to Protect Kids and Fix Washington
