{"id":2058,"date":"2021-10-28T17:24:06","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:24:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=183043"},"modified":"2021-10-28T17:24:06","modified_gmt":"2021-10-28T17:24:06","slug":"texas-outlawed-delta-8-thc-but-the-fight-aint-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2058","title":{"rendered":"Texas outlawed delta-8 THC, but the fight ain\u2019t over"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Texas outlawed delta-8 THC, but the fight ain&#8217;t over &#8211; Leafly<\/title>     <!-- This is Index Exchange, a script\/\/3rd-party integration that interjects GAM. It needs to be 'ahead' of GTM in the DOM, which comes from Cephalopod. GTM loads GAM. This script needs to setup it's interjection stuff before GAM loads. --> <!-- End Index Exchange --> <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v17.1.2 (Yoast SEO v17.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>Delta-8 THC retailers in Texas are not taking a surprise ban on their products lightly.<\/p>\n<p>On Oct. 15, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) quietly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dshs.texas.gov\/consumerprotection\/hemp-program\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">made an enormous change<\/a> to its Consumable Hemp Program guidelines: in addition to plants containing more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, products containing delta<em>\u2013<\/em>8 THC \u201cin any concentration\u201d are now considered a Schedule I controlled substance as well. The move shocked the state\u2019s robust delta-8 industry, which believed it had been operating within the scope of state and federal law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The situation began attracting even more attention last week when the Austin-based company <a href=\"https:\/\/hometownherocbd.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hometown Hero<\/a> filed suit to temporarily block the ban. That request was shot down by a district judge. While delta-8 THC remains illegal in Texas for the moment, a Nov. 5 hearing has been set to determine the future of the hemp-derived cannabinoid in the Lone Star State.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is really out of nowhere. It\u2019s not based on science, it\u2019s not based on any real threat to Texans,\u201d Rick Trojan III, a board member of the Hemp Industries Association, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2021\/10\/21\/texas-delta-8-hemp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told the <em>Texas Tribune<\/em><\/a>. \u201cThe whole thing is confusing for everyone involved. It sounds like DSHS doesn\u2019t even understand why they know what they\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/strains-products\/how-to-find-and-buy-quality-delta-8-thc-products\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>How to find and buy quality delta-8 THC products<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-delta-8-s-complex-legal-status\">Delta-8\u2019s complex legal status<\/h2>\n<p>Both in Texas and across the country, the hemp-derived cannabinoid <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/science-tech\/what-is-delta8-thc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">delta-8 THC<\/a> has surged in popularity in the past year. Congress declared hemp legal in the 2018 farm bill, and defined it as cannabis with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Manufacturers are able to extract CBD from hemp, and then further refine that CBD into delta-8 THC. <\/p>\n<p>Delta-8 manufacturers and advocates argue that D-8 products are legal because they derive from a legal chain of custody, starting with hemp. Opponents, however, argue that delta-8 THC is subject to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.law.cornell.edu\/uscode\/text\/21\/813\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Federal Analogue Act<\/a>, which categorizes substances that mimic or approximate the effects of Schedule 1 drugs as Schedule 1 also. <\/p>\n<p>For the time being, delta-8 <a href=\"https:\/\/cbdoracle.com\/news\/policy\/delta-8-thc-legal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">remains<\/a> unregulated and unrestricted in about 30 states.<\/p>\n<p>In Texas, delta-8 manufacturers and sellers thought they were also in the clear under state law. <\/p>\n<p>In 2019, the state legislature passed <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/TX\/text\/HB1325\/id\/2026154\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">House Bill 1325<\/a>, which confirmed that hemp plants containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC were legal.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, delta-8 has soared in popularity across Texas, where conventional cannabis remains highly illegal even for medical patients. Countless businesses sell delta-8 products as edibles, vapes and more. The chain <a href=\"https:\/\/vapecity.us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vape City<\/a>, for instance, which has 75 locations around the state, sells delta-8 products but pulled them from its shelves after the recent DSHS policy change.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/science-tech\/what-is-delta8-thc\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>What is delta-8?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-was-this-rule-changed\">How was this rule changed?<\/h2>\n<p>Retailers are as frustrated with Texas\u2019 strategy for changing the policy as they are with the ban itself.<\/p>\n<p>State officials, for their part, argue that delta-8 THC has actually been illegal since the passage of House Bill 1325, and that their recent posting is only intended to clarify state policy.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, they have argued that the distinction had been announced a year ago, and that they even held a public hearing about it in Oct. 2020. Yet virtually no delta-8 retailers were aware of either the notification or the hearing, in part because, as the <em>Texas Tribune<\/em>\u2019s Kevin Reynolds <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texastribune.org\/2021\/10\/25\/delta-8-texas-hemp-judge-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a>,&nbsp; the notification was only created as an image and not in text. In other words, it was difficult to find online because it was not searchable. Anyone who kept on top of hemp or delta-9 THC changes with a Google alert would not have seen any information about the hearing pop up on the alert. Not a single person showed up to the hearing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt has been made abundantly clear that, by posting meeting notices in obscure locations, DSHS denied the public an opportunity to weigh in on proposed changes to the Controlled Substances Act,\u201d Heather Fazio, director of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.texasmarijuanapolicy.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Texans for Responsible Marijuana Policy<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marijuanamoment.net\/texas-judge-upholds-delta-8-thc-ban-in-initial-ruling-but-the-fight-isnt-over\/\">told<\/a> <em>Marijuana Moment<\/em>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And now, retailers have decided to take the matter to the courts.<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/strains-products\/i-tried-delta-8-thc-heres-what-it-feels-like\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>I tried delta-8 THC: Here\u2019s what it feels like<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-coordinated-legal-response\">Coordinated legal response<\/h2>\n<p>Last week, Hometown Hero and Sky Market Corp. filed suit against the state health department, asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to be placed on the ban. Attorney David Sergi, representing Sky Market, told State District Judge Gary Harger that, \u201cthe DSHS stance flips the hemp definition on its head.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Yet Harger wasn\u2019t having any of it, and <a href=\"https:\/\/static.texastribune.org\/media\/files\/c868441bc7b96e4bedbfa09270e6d3da\/Judge%20denies%20Delta-8%20TRO.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">declined to block the ban<\/a> on Oct. 22.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The case is far from decided, however. Hometown Hero CEO Lukas Gilkey has since made several pleas to fellow businesses to request temporary restraining orders (TROs) of their own.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a big deal. I get that our families\u2019 lives are at stake. Many of our businesses are at stake,\u201d Gilkey said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=OrMjvR5XIXo&amp;ab_channel=HometownHero\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">one YouTube video<\/a>. \u201cI know for sure we can get one of these damn [TROs] approved.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At least one other company has taken up his call. Vape City filed a suit very similar suit to Hometown Hero and Sky Market Corp\u2019s. As of this writing, Vape City officials haven\u2019t received a response.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, Vape City is all panic,\u201d the company\u2019s CEO, Ali Sheikhani <a href=\"https:\/\/www.chron.com\/news\/houston-texas\/article\/Texas-Delta-8-ban-faces-new-legal-challenge-from-16565882.php\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told <em>CHRON<\/em><\/a>. \u201cPeople don\u2019t know if we sell it. We took all the delta-8 products out. They\u2019re confused. What are we going to tell customers?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Texas delta-8 industry gets its next day in court on Nov. 5. Leafly will continue to follow this developing story. <\/p>\n<div class=\"my-xxl wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-related-articles\">\n<p><h2>Related articles<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/texas-outlawed-delta-8-thc-but-the-fight-aint-over.jpg\" alt=\"Max Savage Levenson's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Max Savage Levenson<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Max Savage Levenson likely has the lowest cannabis tolerance of any writer on the cannabis beat. He also writes about music for Pitchfork, Bandcamp and other bespectacled folk. He co-hosts The Hash podcast. His dream interview is Tyler the Creator.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/max-savage-levenson\">View Max Savage Levenson&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-10-28 13:30:06 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Texas outlawed delta-8 THC, but the fight ain&#8217;t over &#8211; Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Delta-8 THC retailers in Texas are not taking a surprise ban on their products lightly. On Oct. 15, the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) quietly made an enormous change to its Consumable Hemp Program guidelines: in addition to plants containing&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2059,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2058","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/10\/texas-outlawed-delta-8-thc-but-the-fight-aint-over.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2058"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2058\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2058"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2058"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2058"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}