Delta-8 THC is legal, federal court says

Delta-8 THC is legal hemp, fed court rules (Newsletter: May 23, 2022)

In a recent ruling, a federal panel wrote in a report released last Thursday that delta-8-THC is perfectly legal hemp — despite being a psychoactive compound! That means all of the people growing hemp to produce Delta-8, for now – in a court case, you’ll probably win every time, because of the protections of the 2018 Farm Bill, which allows hemp to be grown less than 0, 3% Delta-9 THC… but that doesn’t say anything about Delta-8 either. This means Delta-8 legally falls under the “hemp” category!

A panel from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote in a statement released Thursday that products containing delta-8-THC are generally legal because federal law defines hemp as “any part” of the cannabis plant, including ” of all derivatives, extracts, [and] Cannabinoids” that contains less than 0.3% by weight of delta-9-THC.

According to the court in a 3-0 verdict, the law is “silent on delta-8-THC”.

Delta-9-THC, often referred to simply as THC, is the most abundant psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana and remains illegal federally as it is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. In contrast, delta-8-THC is typically only found in trace amounts in the cannabis plant.

However, current cultivation and manufacturing techniques make it possible to concentrate so-called smaller cannabinoids from hemp plants and refine them into consumer products. And delta-8 THC products have become increasingly popular in recent years, particularly in states where marijuana remains illegal. – Marijuana moment

Let’s face it – the only reason we’re even talking about Delta-8 is because it’s a psychoactive compound similar to Delta-9 THC. For whatever reason, “getting high” is technically the only reason there are any rules against marijuana — and the fact that Congress couldn’t anticipate other psychoactive compounds of cannabis being in its bill — is up to them.

The panel of federal judges agreed—that’s the problem for Congress;

“Regardless of the prudence of legalizing delta-8 THC products, this court will not supersede that of Congress with its own landmark decision,” Justice D. Michael Fisher wrote for the three-member panel, which also included Justices Andrew Kleinfeld and Mark Bennett . All three were appointed by Republican presidents.

If lawmakers inadvertently created a loophole and didn’t intend to legalize psychoactive substances like delta-8-THC, Fisher said, “then it’s up to Congress to rectify its mistake.” – Marijuana moment

But why did they study this problem at all?

The reason the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals even considered the Delta-8 case was a trademark infringement lawsuit in California.

A brand called AK Futures claimed that a California brand Boyd Street Distro was ripping off their products and infringing on their trademark. Boyd’s defense was that there is no trademark for federally banned substances – positing that Delta-8 was also partial.

However, according to this latest ruling, it would mean that the California-based company is committing trademark infringement. While this isn’t a big deal at the moment, as the company in question sourced its supplies from what it claims to be a ‘registered seller’, it has no interest in selling any more products from that supplier. At least that was her official statement.

Legal ClusterF*ck!

The big issue of this debate is not the legality of Delta 8, but the absurdity of outlawing THC. We now have more than enough research to suggest that cannabis is far safer than alcohol. We know that no one can fatally overdose on THC, and we know that it actually works in synergy with cannabinoids like CBD.

The mere fact that cannabis in its entirety is not legal is why people have to go to court to determine whether a trace of the cannabinoid is legal or not.

Dale Gieringer, the California director of NORML, told the Chronicle that it would make more political sense to simply legalize delta-9-THC, which he says has “been exhaustively studied in thousands of topics and research protocols over the decades.” – Marijuana Memorial

The truth is, if we just got rid of these rules that don’t protect anyone, the industry would have a lot more room to grow. Something is badly needed at a time when inflation is reaching record highs.

Big win for prohibition states

Delta-8 was a Trojan horse that circumvented strict prohibition laws in places like Texas and the like. Now that the Feds are saying it’s basically hemp, you can get flashed to Delta-8 without fear of legal repercussions. Similarly, vendors in these areas now have legal redress and can technically effectively sell psychoactive substances to those under the age of 18, since there is no age restriction on hemp.

Of course, I don’t think you should ethically sell Delta-8 THC to minors, but technically if it’s considered legal hemp, you can. Of course that would be the quickest way to make it illegal again, so don’t ruin a perfectly legal business by selling it to a bunch of punk kids.