Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is co-leading a bipartisan group of state attorneys general urging Congress not to delay new federal restrictions on intoxicating hemp products.

In a letter sent Tuesday to congressional leaders, the coalition asks lawmakers to reject efforts to postpone a federal definition of hemp approved in late 2025. The attorneys general argue delaying the change would reopen what they describe as a loophole that has allowed intoxicating THC products to be sold in gas stations, smoke shops and convenience stores.

The new federal definition, scheduled to take effect in November, limits hemp products to 0.4 milligrams of total psychoactive cannabinoids, including THC and THCA, per container and closes what attorneys general describe as a loophole created by the 2018 Farm Bill.

The letter says many states have already updated or are updating their laws to comply with the new definition. The attorneys general argue delaying implementation would create regulatory uncertainty, complicate enforcement efforts and increase youth access to intoxicating hemp products.

Rokita said Congress should allow the law to take effect as scheduled.

"Congress should not bow to the special interests that exploited a loophole in federal law to profit from selling unregulated intoxicating THC products that have harmed communities, jeopardized public safety, and put young people at risk," Rokita said in a statement.

According to the letter, the 2018 Farm Bill's definition focused only on delta-9 THC, allowing products containing other intoxicating cannabinoids, including delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC, to be marketed as hemp if they met the law's weight-based threshold.

The coalition argues the revised definition closes that loophole by limiting total psychoactive cannabinoids rather than a single form of THC.

The attorneys general are asking Congress to reject any effort to delay, suspend or weaken the new definition before it takes effect in November.