When the U.S. Senate voted to close the dangerous “hemp-derived THC” loophole last week, a rare bipartisan supermajority came together to put kids first.

The vote sent a clear message that the unregulated intoxicating hemp products, which have flooded the market, don’t belong in gas stations, vape shops, or online stores without any age restrictions or public health protections.

But while most of the Senate reached across the aisle and stood up for public safety, Colorado Sens. Michael Bennet and John Hickenlooper voted against protecting America’s kids from unregulated drugs.

Their votes were not only disappointing but also suggest willful ignorance of Colorado’s experience with marijuana commercialization and its risks to teens.

When it legalized the growing of hemp for industrial purposes, the 2018 Farm Bill never meant to create a dangerous drug free-for-all.

However, an overlooked loophole allowed non-intoxicating hemp to be synthesized into products with the same effects as legal marijuana, but none of the regulations and oversight. Bad actors not only undermined Colorado’s legal framework but also jeopardized the health of kids. In states without regulated marijuana markets, these hemp-derived products became omnipresent.

Intoxicating hemp products were sold in Colorado and nationally with no age limits and no labeling requirements. The predictable result was harm to growing brains.

Youth advocates, public health champions, and 39 state attorneys general, including Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, urged Congress to close this loophole.

Weiser and the other attorneys general were clear: These unregulated THC products have harmed youth, led to accidental poisonings, and created enforcement chaos. Weiser stood alongside law enforcement, public health officials, and parents — but Colorado’s senators didn’t stand with him.

By not voting to close the hemp hoax loophole, Colorado’s two U.S. senators missed an opportunity to protect America’s next generations, who only have one chance to grow up. This vote by a 76% supermajority in the Senate, approved by the House of Representatives, and signed by the president, was not a vote against hemp. It was a vote against intoxicating products that exploit a regulatory gray area to reach kids and to undermine public safety.

Closing this loophole was about responsibility, not prohibition. Why would Colorado’s senators oppose that?

Our nation’s kids are paying the price for the slow and reactive approach to regulating THC products. And when the opportunity came to proactively fix a glaring federal gap, Colorado’s senators chose to turn a blind eye.

There’s still time for them to course-correct. Implementation of this new legislation will occur over the coming year. That means Sens. Bennet and Hickenlooper still have a chance to listen to their constituents and to show they take youth protection seriously.

It’s easy to say kids come first. Now it’s time for our senators to prove it.

Henny Lasley is co-founder and executive director of One Chance To Grow Up, a Colorado based nonprofit dedicated to safeguarding kids from today’s dangerous and deceptive drugs through community education and groundbreaking policy.