{"id":2577,"date":"2021-11-23T05:16:48","date_gmt":"2021-11-23T05:16:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/CBMie2h0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lm1vbmRhcS5jb20vdW5pdGVkc3RhdGVzL2Nhbm5hYmlzLWhlbXAvMTEzMzYzNi9kZWx0YS04LXRoYy1pcy1hbGwtdGhlLXJhZ2UtYnV0LWl0cy1sZWdhbGl0eS1pcy1pbi10aGUtY3Jvc3NoYWlyc9IBAA"},"modified":"2021-11-23T05:16:48","modified_gmt":"2021-11-23T05:16:48","slug":"delta-8-thc-is-all-the-rage-but-its-legality-is-in-the-crosshairs-cannabis-hemp-united-states-mondaq-news-alerts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=2577","title":{"rendered":"Delta-8 THC Is All The Rage, But Its Legality Is In The Crosshairs – Cannabis & Hemp – United States – Mondaq News Alerts"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Delta is very much in the news these days.<\/p>\n

The delta variant continues to spread, bringing the total number
\nof COVID-19 cases to 40 million since the start of the
\npandemic.<\/p>\n

Delta Airlines made headlines when it recently announced that
\nits unvaccinated employees will face $200 monthly increases on
\ntheir health insurance premiums beginning November 1, citing steep
\ncosts to cover workers hospitalized with COVID.<\/p>\n

And then there’s a delta having nothing to do with the novel
\ncoronavirus. Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a psychoactive
\ncompound naturally occurring in hemp and cannabis and believed by
\nmany to be legal at the federal level.<\/p>\n

No doubt about it, momentum toward the federal legalization (or,
\nat the very least, decriminalization) of cannabis is building,
\nespecially with the Cannabis Administration and Opportunity Act now
\npending in the U.S. Senate. That legislation would, among other
\nthings, remove marijuana from the Controlled Substances Act,
\nintroduce regulations to tax cannabis products, expunge prior
\nconvictions in some circumstances, and maintain the authority of
\nstates to set their own marijuana policies. Still, cannabis
\ncurrently remains listed in the CSA as a Schedule I drug and is
\ntherefore against the federal law\u2014this despite the rush of
\nstates making the substance legal for recreational and\/or medical
\nuse\u2014which begs the question: what exactly is delta-8 THC and
\nis it actually a fully legal alternative to cannabis?<\/p>\n

Delta-8 THC: A Brief Primer<\/h3>\n

THC is a mind-altering compound found in cannabis. The cannabis
\nplant contains several different forms of THC (as well as other
\ncompounds like CBD), and not all of them are equal. Delta-9 TCH is
\nthe main psychoactive found in marijuana, and it’s the elevated
\nconcentrations of this compound that produces a “high”
\nfrom the cannabis subject to the CSA.<\/p>\n

Mostly synthesized from CBD extracted from hemp, delta-8 TCH,
\nwhile similar to delta-9 THC, has a different chemical structure,
\nmaking it a much milder alternative to its more potent cousin.
\nNonetheless, delta-8 THC is touted for producing modest feelings of
\neuphoria, relaxation and potential pain relief.<\/p>\n

The Question of Legality<\/h3>\n

To opine on the legality of delta-8 THC at the federal level,
\nit’s first necessary to understand the difference between hemp
\nand marijuana. Hemp is a cannabis plant that contains less than 0.3
\npercent delta-9 THC. Marijuana also comes from a cannabis plant but
\nhas a higher concentration of delta-9 TCH, more than 0.3
\npercent.<\/p>\n

With that by way of background, the 2018 Farm Bill legalized
\nhemp, which is non-intoxicating, though the legislation didn’t
\ncontemplate intoxicating levels of delta-8 THC (again, synthesized
\nfrom hemp), essentially leaving the latter unregulated.
\nConsequently, the law has created a loophole for products
\ncontaining delta-8 THC (even in high amounts), so long as they are
\nderived from federally legalized hemp containing less than 0.3
\npercent delta-9 THC. Indeed, by virtue of the Farm Bill, the
\nmanufacturing, distribution, sale and use of delta-8 THC in the
\nform of gummies, vape cartridges, tinctures and the like is
\narguably permissible under federal law.<\/p>\n

The key word is “arguably” because in passing the Farm
\nBill, Congress drew a line in the sand between marijuana, which
\nproduces a “high” and was clearly intended to remain
\nillegal at the federal level, and hemp, which isn’t
\npsychoactive and therefore now legal in the U.S. Clearly then, to
\nthe extent it produces a mind-altering effect\u2014however
\nmild\u2014delta-8 THC violates the spirit of the law. Nonetheless,
\nproducts containing delta-8 THC are being sold across the country
\nwithout federal oversight.<\/p>\n

The question of the legality gets even muddier since delta-8
\ndoesn’t naturally occur in large amounts in hemp plants. The
\nwork around is to convert CBD or delta-9 THC into delta-8 THC
\nsynthetically, which is illegal.<\/p>\n

States Are Weighing In<\/h3>\n

Several states have inserted themselves into the conversation
\nabout delta-8 THC\u2014specifically, the absence of research
\nregarding the compound’s psychoactive effects\u2014by blocking
\nits sale. In fact, the compound is banned or sales restricted in
\nAlaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho,
\nIowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Mississippi, Montana, New York, North
\nDakota, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont and Washington.<\/p>\n

Legal or not, calls to poison control centers nationwide are on
\nthe rise concerning the toxicity of delta-8 THC. The fact is that
\nscientists still don’t know a lot about how the chemicals in
\nthe compound work, especially in high concentrations. Nonetheless,
\nthe consensus is that while delta-8 THC itself may not be
\ndangerous, the worry is what it might be mixed with in a federally
\nunregulated market.<\/p>\n

Sellers (and Users) Beware<\/h3>\n

Delta-8-THC has found its way onto shelves in gas stations,
\nconvenience stores, tobacco shops and cannabis dispensaries from
\ncoast-to-coast\u2014often with no age restrictions. With its
\never-increasing popularity comes enhanced scrutiny, both in terms
\nof legality and safety. And whether delta-8 is legal at the federal
\nlevel may be something of an open question, those manufacturing,
\ndistributing and selling the substance must be mindful of the
\npotential for litigation and civil exposure due to the lack of
\nregulatory oversight, limited laboratory testing and the
\nomnipresent possibility of product toxicity.<\/p>\n

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
\nguide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
\nabout your specific circumstances.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Delta is very much in the news these days. The delta variant continues to spread, bringing the total number of COVID-19 cases to 40 million since the start of the pandemic. Delta Airlines made headlines when it recently announced that its unvaccinated employees will face $200 monthly increases on their health insurance premiums beginning November 1, citing steep costs to cover workers hospitalized with COVID. And then there’s a delta having nothing to do with the novel coronavirus. Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a psychoactive compound naturally occurring in hemp and cannabis and believed by many to be legal at the federal… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/delta-8-thc-is-all-the-rage-but-its-legality-is-in-the-crosshairs-cannabis-hemp-united-states-mondaq-news-alerts.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577","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=2577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}