What they're saying: Hemp-derived THC is "basically the cannabis equivalent of junk food," says Martin Lee, director of Project CBD and author of "Smoke Signals."

• "It'll get you high, but it has byproducts in it," he tells Axios.
• The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine warns hemp-derived cannabinoids could contain strong acids and solvents.

How it works: Through a chemical conversion process, the CBD of a hemp plant is synthesized to "potentially" look a lot like the psychoactive compound naturally found in cannabis, delta-9 THC, says Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids.

• "I say 'potentially,' because the truth is that we, as scientists, don't necessarily know," whether synthetic drugs like THC-P, HHC, THC-O-acetate and delta-8 THC work like delta-9 THC, Cooper tells Axios.

What we're watching: Other states are also eyeing a hemp THC ban.

More from Axios:

• THC levels have quadrupled since the '90s
• Trying cannabis? Read this before you do
• Where marijuana is legal and for what use