Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf has written to House lawmakers urging them to investigate what he describes as the growing involvement of Chinese-linked actors and foreign criminal organisations in America's market for hemp-derived THC products and illegal marijuana operations. In the letter, sent to the leaders of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Wolf argues the issue poses not only public health risks but also a significant national security concern, matters he says are putting both young people and adults at risk.

Wolf contends that a policy originally intended to legalise industrial hemp and non-intoxicating CBD products has evolved into an unregulated market for high-potency THC goods sold with little oversight. He warns that these products — often sold as gummies, sweets, drinks and vapes — are frequently packaged in ways that appeal to children and lack age restrictions, labelling and safety standards. He cites the White House's 2026 National Drug Control Strategy, which states that the US marijuana trade has been "co-opted and industrialised" by sophisticated transnational criminal groups, particularly those with ties to China.