Synthetic hemp: Florida lawmakers need to protect our children with new legislation | Opinion

As a Broward County School Board member and teacher, one of my greatest fears is how easily dangerous substances are slipping into the lives of children.

What worries me most is that many of these products don’t look like drugs at all. Instead, they look like candy.

They come in colorful packaging shaped like gummy bears or soda bottles with cartoon characters plastered across the labels. They are sold at gas stations, convenience stores and smoke shops across South Florida, often right where a child can spot them. But these aren’t harmless treats.

They are high-inducing hemp products, they are unregulated and they are being marketed to kids. Florida’s leaders have taken steps in the right direction. In 2023, lawmakers unanimously passed a bill banning hemp products that are “attractive to children.”

Now, two years later, the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) is wrestling with hemp manufacturers to carry out this law as they debate just what the term “attractive to children” means.

FDACS has already removed more than 800,000 such products from shelves, and while this is a start, it won’t be enough until we are able to target the problem at its source.

The government has been forced into a reactive posture enforcing vague rules long after these products have already been on store shelves and sold to consumers. As the synthetic hemp industry evolves, it is always one step ahead of regulators. Parents are left playing catch-up while children remain exposed.

This patchwork approach is not sustainable. We cannot rely on emergency orders, scattered enforcement actions or after-the-fact rules to protect our children. What we need is comprehensive legislation that regulates synthetic hemp in a clear, consistent and enforceable way.

For the past several years, the Florida Legislature has debated bipartisan bills that propose comprehensive regulation for hemp. Some of these efforts have stalled and others have been vetoed, but the need has only grown more urgent as time passes.

We already regulate alcohol and tobacco with strict rules on packaging, labeling and youth access.

Why should synthetic hemp, which can be just as intoxicating and even more confusing for consumers, be treated any differently?

The industry itself has admitted it needs clarity. Many manufacturers and retailers say they support well-defined rules that prevent youth access and create consistent standards.

The fact is, we cannot wait for the next emergency order or the next child to end up in the hospital after mistaking a hemp gummy for candy.

Florida families need lawmakers to finish the job they started and pass comprehensive hemp regulation this upcoming session.

Our kids deserve better. It’s time for dangerous products to be kept out of their reach not because an inspector happened to catch it but because the law makes it clear and enforceable.

It’s time for Florida to act decisively, for the Legislature to pass meaningful policy and for the governor to stand with us and approve a comprehensive law to regulate hemp.

Sarah Leonardi is a teacher and vice chair of the Broward County School Board representing District 3.