Delta-8 THC products illegal in Texas, according to Department of Health’s updated website

0

[ad_1]

The Texas Department of State Health Services updated its website Friday to clarify that delta-8 THC products – which many believed to be legal under the 2018 federal Farm Bill – are still considered a controlled substance in Texas.

A notice on the Consumable Hemp Program page now reads: “All other forms of THC, including Delta 8 at any concentration and Delta 9 above 0.3%, are considered Schedule Controlled Substances.” I. “

Bill 1325, which Governor Greg Abbott signed in 2019, legalized hemp products under 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC).

One day before the change, The morning news from Dallas posted a story about the product that many thought was legal in Texas, or at least in a “gray area,” Kim Augsburger, owner of CBD American Shaman in College Station, told local station KBTX-TV.

Delta-8 is a cannabinoid extracted from cannabis plants, most commonly made from hemp. It is sold as edible candy, vaping cartridges and oil tinctures and is said to produce a “high†similar to that of marijuana.

Many companies in North Texas have started to advertise the product, including an upcoming vape store in Frisco.

The product was used extensively under the Federal Farm Bill, which changed the definition of legal marijuana extracts to those containing “no more than 0.3% delta-9 THC” and hemp products. legalized, including delta-8, at the federal level.

In May, Stephen Pahl, the Texas Department of Health’s associate commissioner for consumer protection, clarified in the regular legislative session that state law allows Commissioner John Hellerstedt to oppose federal drug programs. , including the delta-8.

“Because of the way the DEA defined a marijuana extract to be only delta-9 THC, and because there are compounds or isomers of THC that have pharmacological or psychoactive properties, the [Texas] health commissioner has chosen to oppose these schedules, â€Pahl told the committee. “Essentially, that means delta-8 is still on the Schedule 1 drug schedule.”

The official notice was posted on the Texas Register in late January.

Yet many residents and licensed vendors of CBD products in Texas were unaware of its status because it was not explicitly listed as a state controlled substance until Friday, and the list only recognizes the group. broader THC isomers mentioned by Pahl.

A few companies choose to fight the new advice, including CBD Shaman founder and US owner Vince Sanders, who told the Dallas Watcher his company will send a notice to the attorney general, local law enforcement and the health department opposing the decision to include THC isomers on the controlled substance list.

Texas Hemp Growers Association president Zachary Maxwell said Texas has not informed CBD operators of the product’s illegal status, but the group wants them to know that delta-8 and other isomers of the product. THC are illegal in the state.

The Department of Health website includes a warning that the organization has “no regulatory authority over controlled substances.” The application belongs to local and state authorities.

Under the status of delta-8 as a controlled substance, anyone in possession of the products could face a felony charge punishable by up to two years in prison and a fine of $ 10,000.

At least six Texas residents have been charged with a felony in the past 90 days for possession of delta-8, Maxwell said.

[ad_2]

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.