If you鈥檝e recently stopped by the 嫩草影院 store down the street or visited one of the many websites selling 嫩草影院 online, you may have seen something odd 鈥� right alongside the 嫩草影院 oils and tinctures, 嫩草影院 gummies, and vape juice.
Delta-8-THC.
That leads to a lot of questions.
- First of all, what鈥檚 THC doing in a 嫩草影院 store? Isn鈥檛 that only supposed to be sold in a marijuana dispensary?
- Second, what is Delta-8-THC? Is it just a cleverly named 嫩草影院 brand? Is it synthetic weed? What鈥檚 with the 鈥淒elta-8?鈥�
- And most importantly: is this really legal?
You have questions. We have answers.
Delta-8-THC: The Brief FAQ
Let鈥檚 start with the simple answers.
- Delta-8-THC, or Delta-8 as it鈥檚 commonly known, is not a form of 嫩草影院. And Delta-8 is a product, not a brand name.
- Delta-8-THC is a form of substance that鈥檚 in marijuana and gets you high.
- Delta-8 is not a synthetic pot, or anything else synthetic. It鈥檚 natural. (The word 鈥渟ynthetic鈥� is a tricky one, though, as we鈥檒l discuss shortly) ().
- Delta-8 is sold in 嫩草影院 stores and on 嫩草影院 websites because 鈥� to be completely honest 鈥� there鈥檚 no law specifically prohibiting it from being sold there.
As for the 鈥渋s this really legal?鈥� question: yes, for now. But it鈥檚 complicated.
To understand the legal ins and outs, we have to first answer the most important question of all.
Exactly What Is Delta-8-THC?
As we鈥檝e mentioned, Delta-8 is a form of THC, the psychoactive substance responsible for the mind-altering effects we all associate with marijuana 鈥� and many of the medicinal benefits of the pot.
But it鈥檚 not the 鈥渟ame THC鈥� that gets you stoned when you smoke up. That鈥檚 Delta-9-THC.
Confused yet? We thought so. To clear things up, let鈥檚 dig a little deeper into exactly what鈥檚 in cannabis.
Cannabinoids
Even those with just a slight familiarity with the subject have heard the term 鈥渃annabinoids鈥� (). They鈥檙e the active components in cannabis, primarily responsible for the plant鈥檚 effects when its byproducts are smoked or ingested. (Cannabis also contains also other substances like terpenes and flavonoids, but that鈥檚 another subject for another day.)
There are well over 100 different cannabinoids in each of the two types of cannabis, marijuana, and hemp. (Yes, hemp is also a variety of cannabis plants.) The two that most people know about are THC and 嫩草影院, but many other cannabinoids are present in lesser amounts. Both THC and 嫩草影院 are naturally found in marijuana and hemp plants; the primary difference is that there鈥檚 a lot of THC in weed and just a minuscule amount in hemp.
To be legally sold in locations other than marijuana dispensaries, 嫩草影院 (scientific name: cannabidiol) cannot contain more than 0.3% THC content (). That鈥檚 why the 嫩草影院 that鈥檚 commercially available is sourced from hemp, not pot. This is an important distinction, and we鈥檒l get back to it.
But here鈥檚 a key point to understand. Nearly everyone talks about the psychoactive THC in marijuana 鈥� but that鈥檚 not its full biological name. It鈥檚 really called Delta-9-THC (). Delta-9 is the cannabinoid that鈥檚 prominently contained in marijuana, and nearly absent from hemp and its by-products.
One of the other cannabinoids found in both types of cannabis? Delta-8-THC.
Delta-8 Is Not Delta-9
It would be natural to confuse Delta-8-THC (usually just referred to as Delta-8) and Delta-9-THC (Delta-9). In fact, even if you use a microscope, it鈥檚 easy to confuse them.
The two cannabinoids are what are known as 鈥渁nalogs鈥� 鈥� almost mirror images of each other. The only slight difference in their makeup is in the way that a couple of molecules are bonded together at the atomic level.
Why are they so similar? It鈥檚 because Delta-8 is only created when Delta-9 degrades over time; Delta-8 doesn鈥檛 occur naturally in the cannabis plant. It isn鈥檛 present at all until cannabis has begun to age and experience the effects of oxidation. That鈥檚 when Delta-9 can turn into Delta-8.
You might think that two virtually identical cannabinoids would have the same effects on the user, but that isn鈥檛 actually the case. While there鈥檚 only a slight difference in the way that Delta-9 and Delta-8 molecules are bonded, the impact of that difference is huge.
First, Delta-8 is much less psychoactive than Delta-9-THC. Second, the two cannabinoids behave differently once they enter the body.
THC interacts with the body by binding to its endocannabinoid receptors; those receptors are a crucial part of the endocannabinoid system (ECS), which regulates almost all of the body鈥檚 important functions. But because of the different structures of Delta-9 and Delta-8, they don鈥檛 interact with ECS receptors in the same way. Essentially, Delta-8 only acts on one set of receptors (CB1) instead of both sets, and the CB1 receptors block a much larger percentage of Delta-8鈥檚 psychoactive properties.
That means that the small amounts of Delta-8-THC in the pot (and 嫩草影院) don鈥檛 make people anywhere near as high as the large amounts of Delta-9 in marijuana. Delta-8 is only about 50% psychoactive, and much of that effect is blocked by the ECS receptors.
In summary, Delta-8-THC does cause some mild-altering effects after being ingested. But it鈥檚 nothing like the experience of smoking or ingesting the Delta-9-THC in weed.
(If you鈥檙e curious, the Delta-8 high is milder, smoother, not likely to interfere with mental or physical performance, and unlikely to produce anxiety or paranoia. Many users find it to be an energizing and focused high. Delta-8 also provides a number of the same medicinal benefits believed linked to Delta-9-THC.)
That鈥檚 a lot of information, and most of it doesn鈥檛 seem to answer the question 鈥淚s Delta-8-THC legal?鈥�
You鈥檒l soon understand, however, why all of that information is so important.
The Legality of Delta-8-THC
Existing Laws
Let鈥檚 start with one fact we all know: more than a dozen states have legalized marijuana for recreational purposes, and more than two-thirds have legalized it for medicinal purposes ().
It鈥檚 true that the federal government still considers marijuana a Schedule 1 controlled substance, and therefore illegal for possession, sale, or use (). In reality, though, regulation of pot sale and use has more recently been left up to the states. That means natural by-products of the marijuana plant are generally legal in states that have approved their sale and use 鈥� and illegal in states where weed is still banned.
Here鈥檚 another fact: The Farm Bill of 2018 legalized the sale of products naturally produced from the hemp plant, including 嫩草影院 (). A few states (Idaho, South Dakota, and Iowa), however, still have laws that supposedly ban 嫩草影院.
Since Delta-8-THC is naturally present in both marijuana and hemp plants, we should now have a road map to its legal status. It would seem that Delta-8 from weed plants is fully legal in states which also allow the sale and use of pot and that it鈥檚 legal in almost every state if the Delta-8 is sourced from hemp.
Seems easy, right? Sorry, but it鈥檚 about to get more complicated.
The Legal Confusion Surrounding Delta-8
We鈥檝e mentioned that both marijuana and hemp plants contain only tiny amounts of Delta-8. It鈥檚 theoretically possible to extract that cannabinoid for sale 鈥� but that process would be so time-consuming and expensive that it鈥檚 not an economically viable approach for producers.
To come up with Delta-8 for sale, they need to find a different way to source the substance. And because cannabinoids are so chemically similar, there are two methods they can use. The Delta-9-THC in marijuana can be converted into Delta-8 via a painstaking process called 鈥渢hin-film distillation鈥�. And 嫩草影院 extracted from hemp can be converted into Delta-8 via a different process known as 鈥渋somerization鈥� ().
In other words, the Delta-8 you see sold in dispensaries and stores is sourced from legal marijuana and hemp plants. And there鈥檚 no law that specifically bans the sale of Delta-8 in any way.
So what鈥檚 the problem?
It鈥檚 largely a semantic issue 鈥� but as we all know, 鈥渢he letter of the law鈥� is often what really matters.
The law we鈥檙e primarily concerned with herewith is the Synthetic Drug Abuse Prevention Act of 2012 (). It was designed to ban the production of sale of synthetic drugs like bath salts and synthetic marijuana products like Spice and K2. The keyword, though, is 鈥渟ynthetic.鈥�
Delta-8 is, as we鈥檝e described, naturally contained in cannabis, and the versions that are sold to consumers are produced from natural substances extracted from cannabis. They鈥檙e natural, not synthetic.
But the process of turning Delta-9 or 嫩草影院 into Delta-8-THC is often described as 鈥渟ynthesizing鈥� Delta-8. That鈥檚 led some legal eagles 鈥� many of them in the government 鈥� to conclude that Delta-8 is a synthetic product that would be banned by the 2012 law.
Of course, their real concern isn鈥檛 how Delta-8 is created. It鈥檚 the fact that Delta-8 is mildly psychoactive. And despite the fact that the majority of Americans believe marijuana should be legal, there are still politicians fighting against the 鈥渓egalization of drugs鈥� 鈥� no matter what they are, where they come from, how they鈥檙e produced, or what their benefits might be.
To that end, The DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) is in the middle of finalizing and releasing a new rule governing 鈥渟ynthetically-derived鈥� THC, which would apparently close the loophole that allows the production and sale of Delta-8 ().
No one knows whether the rule will be released as currently written, or when to expect it in final form. There鈥檚 also no way to know-how, or if, a ban on Delta-8 would be enforced.
The bottom line is that, right now, Delta-8-THC created from hemp-derived 嫩草影院 is still apparently legal, and available online and in stores nationwide. But it may not be available for much longer.