Here’s how Corpus Christi businesses were affected by the Delta-8 ban

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Some Corpus Christi businesses were affected during the three weeks that Delta-8 was banned in Texas. Although it’s legal again, business owners say their customers have been hit even harder.

Delta-8 was effectively made illegal after the Texas Department of Health Services classified it as a controlled substance on October 15. On November 8, a Texas judge granted a temporary injunction making it legal again.

Following: Delta-8 legal in Texas, for now, after judge’s injunction regarding cannabis extract

What is Delta-8?

Delta-8 is an extract naturally present in the cannabis plant. Since little is found naturally in the plant, delta-8 is often made with cannabidiol, or CBD. It has gained popularity for its psychoactive and intoxicating effects similar to the high experienced when using marijuana. Unlike other cannabinoids, delta-8 causes only a fraction, often described as a third, of the high THC effect with less anxiety and paranoia, according to Harvard Medical School.

It is often marketed for therapeutic or medical purposes despite not having FDA approval.

Tobacco stores started selling delta-8 three years ago after Bill 1325 legalized consumable hemp products containing no more than 0.3% THC. The DSHS claimed that Bill 1325 did not mention delta-8 and was not intended to allow the manufacture and sale of delta-8 products.

Carter Little, director of operations at Mr. Nice Guys, a tobacco store with seven locations in the Corpus Christi area, said the company’s sales had taken a hit, but the ban primarily affected its customers. .

“We sell so many different things and we’ve been around for about 12 years, way before Delta-8 and CBD,†Little said. “The very little things that are overlooked in the regulations hurt a lot of people.”

This is not the first time that stores like Mr. Nice Guys have faced a ban on these products. In 2019, Texas banned smoking hemp. A judge granted an injunction in September 2020 and the ban was lifted in August 2021.

Jen Anderson, owner of Your Happy Place on South Padre Island Drive, has been selling CBD and Delta-8 for four years. Before he started selling hemp and cannabis products, Anderson, 48, kicked his eldest son out of the house for smoking weed.

Then she was prescribed medical marijuana. She is now focusing on educating others about the benefits of these products.

Is Delta-8 Safe?

Despite claims about the medicinal benefits of delta-8, there are few human studies proving its efficacy and safety.

In a study by Avraham Abrahamov, Aya Abrahamov and Raphael Mechoulam, who is often referred to as the “father of cannabis research,†delta-8 was given to eight children aged 3 to 13 with various hematologic cancers prior to treatment. The study found that delta-8 completely prevented their vomiting during treatment.

Anderson sells CBD and Delta-8 in the form of vapes, gummies, creams, homemade oils, and more to some for pain relief and other ailments. One of her clients, Brianna Villarreal, 25, takes a combination of CBD and delta-8 for a seizure disorder.

“I was devastated,†Anderson said. “It is my clients and clients who must have this drug. They were asking, “What happened? What are we doing?’ because they consumed it while it was legal and then took it away. Without breaking the law, how can I provide these people with the products they need? “

Villarreal started taking delta-8 and CBD two years ago after having a seizure in Anderson’s store, where she now hangs out at the cannabis bar or lounge in the back of the store. Villarreal keeps a small jar of cream and a vape in his pocket. When she feels a seizure coming, she uses the cream to stop it.

She was one of the many customers who were shocked when the delta-8 was pulled from the shelves.

“I thought if that was what was going on, I was just going to have seizures both ways and that would be really bad,†Villarreal said. “I wouldn’t know what to do.”

Despite the injunction, Anderson’s sales took a big hit.

“Some would think business would take a turn for the worse,†Anderson said. “This is not the case. At least 10-15 customers a day in each of my stores were looking for delta-8 when it was off limits. These customers have returned to the streets.

Delta 10 and HHC products

Businesses like Your Happy Place will survive, however, Anderson said. The potential ban on delta-8 brings other products on the shelves, including delta-10 and hexahydrocannabinol, or HHC, another cannabinoid.

Delta-10 and HHC products could be considered legal under Bill 1325 if they do not contain more than 0.3% THC.

“Our biggest thing is that we want the people of Texas to have access to the products they need to be happy, healthy individuals – Delta-8 is one of them,†Little said. “I think Texas has the opportunity to do the cannabis industry in a very different way and I don’t think they are.”

Read more

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Ashlee Burns covers the trends and the latest news in South Texas. Check out our subscription options and special offers at Caller.com/subscribe

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