Writing for Westlaw Today and Thomson Reuters, Alexander Malyshev and Sarah Ganley of Carter Ledyard’s Cannabis, Hemp & CBD industry group, discuss a gray area when the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and whether a loophole was created allowing for intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products.
Shortly after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp, entrepreneurs began pushing the envelope in what they believed to be a legal gray area: intoxicating hemp-derived cannabinoid products like delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (“Delta-8 THC”), delta-10 tetrahydrocannabinol (“Delta-10 THC”), and other psychoactive derivatives distilled from hemp (which does not naturally contain those compounds in sufficient quantities to provide a “buzz”).
These products flourished in what many perceived to be a gray area (mostly due to a lack of enforcement during a time that saw the expansion of state-legal recreational cannabis markets) and were being sold in gas stations, online stores, and even wellness boutiques nationwide.
But, as is often the case, these businesses have become victims of their own success. Now federal agencies and state legislatures have been moving aggressively to regulate, restrict, or ban these products outright amid growing concerns over safety, youth access, and regulatory evasion.