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The recent passage of Section 759 didn't just restrict hemp-derived products—it exposed a fundamental problem: superficial compliance practices and an inability to work together toward common regulatory goals. With new federal restrictions, increased civil liability through RICO, and the end of regulatory ambiguity, businesses can no longer afford performative safety measures.
During a recent Qredible Live broadcast, Doug Fischer, General Counsel at Active and President of Vape Safer, made a compelling case for why this crisis must become a catalyst for industry unity and genuine cannabinoid industry compliance. Fischer, who has served as General Counsel for multiple cannabis companies including publicly-traded Green Lane Holdings and MSO Ascend Wellness Holdings, explained why superficial compliance is now dangerously obsolete and how the industry can establish meaningful standards that protect both businesses and consumers.
For years, many cannabis and hemp businesses have engaged in what Fischer calls "compliance theater"—the appearance of following rules without genuine commitment to safety and accuracy.
"I used to talk about that in my prior life as well because I did all sorts of accounting and defended all sorts of accounting fraud cases," Fischer explained. "And I used to always say things like if you have some fancy SOP or policy that you have no records of following than to not have one at all."
The stakes have dramatically increased due to two recent developments. The Supreme Court's decision in Medical Marijuana v. Horn established that civil RICO claims can proceed for mislabeled CBD products. A truck driver purchased a product labeled as containing no THC, failed a drug test, lost his job, and successfully sued under RICO.
"The court specifically rejected the argument that RICO only covers direct business or property injury," Fischer noted. With limited government resources, plaintiffs' attorneys are becoming de facto regulators. "They don't have a mandate to protect public health and safety. They have a mandate to make as much money as they can," Fischer warned.
The division between state-regulated cannabis operators and hemp businesses has prevented effective advocacy since 2018. "You have regulated cannabis and marijuana who've gone through an arduous process to get state licenses, build facilities that can only be sold in dispensaries. Lab testing, all these things that are generally good but expensive and make it hard to compete," Fischer explained. "And then all of a sudden you had this almost unregulated hemp industry pop up alongside of it."
Section 759 reclassified virtually all hemp-derived intoxicating products as Schedule I controlled substances, putting both industries in the same legal position. "Right now, it's all marijuana, right? It's all back to the status quo. All of it is a schedule one controlled substance. And so there's a real incentive for everyone to kind of set aside their narrower interests," Fischer observed.
Fischer advocates for a fundamental regulatory shift: "Let's regulate the cannabinoids not a plant. There's no reason for cannabis sativa L to be on the controlled substances schedule. What should be on the controlled substances schedule is whatever cannabinoids are appropriate to be there."
This approach eliminates agricultural uncertainty. Fischer shared how Kentucky hemp farmers faced crop destruction during an unusually hot year: "THC spikes in heat and you know the farmers did everything they could do to control it. And that year the Kentucky Department of Agriculture didn't even test at harvest because they knew the whole state would be on fire."
By regulating extracted cannabinoids rather than plants, farmers wouldn't face losses due to uncontrollable factors. "We talk about what's taken out of that plant when it's entered into the stream of the commerce," Fischer explained.
Fischer identified critical standards the industry must align on to demonstrate genuine cannabinoid industry compliance.
"What the product says it is is what it actually is," Fischer stated. This requires legitimate certificate of analysis programs with third-party testing.
Companies with compliance failures lose their advocacy power. "If you want to walk into your representatives office or your senator's office, but there's something in your Google history that says, 'Oh, their COAs were inaccurate or their labeling was inaccurate.' Guess what? You don't have a seat at the table, nor do you deserve one," Fischer warned.
Products cannot appeal to children through packaging or marketing. "Nothing that appeals to children or can get in children's hands," Fischer emphasized. While bad actors weren't representative of the entire industry, products resembling candy provided ammunition for prohibition.
Fischer advised focusing on "somewhere between two and five pillars as to what makes a safe product" rather than getting lost in excessive technical detail.
Fischer envisions different pathways serving different markets. Low-dose beverages could follow alcohol-like distribution: "What if they say, 'Okay, fine. Beverages with less than 5 milligrams of THC per can be derived from anywhere. We just care about how much THC is in it, and you can sell those outside the dispensary channel.'"
This compromise would broaden coalition support. "And now all of a sudden the liquor wholesalers and distributors aren't opposed to this. In fact, they're in favor of it." Higher-potency products would continue through licensed dispensaries. "There are compromises I think that can really get more access for more people to safe products and still more or less preserve everyone's business interests," Fischer explained.
Even with limited resources, federal enforcement can reshape markets strategically. "All it takes is a few convenience stores and gas stations and smoke shops. These are small businesses. They can't withstand a $50,000 fine or $100,000 fine. You do a hundred of those actions, now all of a sudden demand for those businesses to carry these products plummets," Fischer explained.
Major retailers are already responding. "Certainly the big box retailers are not going to be carrying illegal products, which again makes the economics of the business entirely and it's a huge hit to the market."
Fischer emphasized arguments that resonate with policymakers beyond business interests. "This is a new homegrown industry that is less dependent upon foreign influences than the vast majority of industries in this country," Fischer stated.
More importantly, "There are people who need these products or people who use them as an alternative to other potentially more harmful products and other people who use them responsibly," Fischer explained. Section 759 also stripped provisions for veterans' access. "What better spokesman for safe access than our heroes who use these products for whatever ill effects they've had from their service," Fischer noted.
States will need to update their hemp laws to comply with Section 759, creating opportunities to pilot effective standards. "There's a ton of work to be done at the state level, too. And I don't I think that's equally important and might be even a better starting place for a lot of people," Fischer advised.
Fischer offered a unifying principle: "Good actors are defined by the standards they uphold, not which plant they get their cannabinoids from. Whatever feelings you may have about the past, like we'll all benefit if that's the mindset."
"The number of phone calls I've received in the past two days, three days of can we form this coalition, can we form that coalition? I'm looking online and all of a sudden all sorts of different groups are popping up," Fischer reported after Section 759's passage.
The 365-day grace period must be used for coalition-building, developing consensus standards, state-level pilot programs, and federal advocacy during the 2026 Farm Bill process. "I've seen people who I've known to more or less sit on the sidelines and tend their business. Even those people I've seen start getting extremely active in the past few days," Fischer observed.
The choice is clear: unite around genuine standards or face continued restrictions. As Fischer emphasized, "The days of compliance theater, it's over. Mere performative compliance or box-checking is now the peril and the downfall." The time for real cannabinoid industry compliance—and real unity—is now.
