Cannabis Industry Wants Guidance on Derivatives that Makes Users High

BY: Chronic Staff | Recent News | published August 5, 2021

In Cleveland Ohio, the cannabis industry is growing. This highlights a lack of action from the federal government and agencies.

Each state is left to its own devices to regulate cannabis. Some have created medical marijuana programs alone while neighbors like Michigan let recreational use be legalized.

Hemp products were legalized under the 2018 Farm Bill across the county however, groups like FDA still do not inspect or test hemp products.

Marijuana and hemp come from cannabis plants. The difference is the amount of THC. It is the compound that gives psychoactive effects that get users high. Hemp has less than .3 percent THC which is not enough to have those effects.

Cannabis has been around for centuries but Delta 8 THC is a form of it that has only recently hit the market last year. Delta 8 THC is a derivative of hemp with similar but less psychoactive effects compared to Delta 9 THC.

Customers can use Delta 8 for quasi-medical reasons but also to feel good and relax in the same way they have beer or whiskey at the end of the day. The difference is that Delta 8 is made from cannabis, so the federal agencies make sure what to put in the bodies is safe. Delta 8 is unregulated, the US Cannabis Council Executive Director Steve Hawkins said.

Federal agencies and the government have not checked in on the 2018 Farm Bill since it was regulated, the laws in cannabis can be differentiated from other states. That caught the attention of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to criticize the federal government’s split approach to the substance that bans marijuana at the federal level while allowing states to give permission.

On the other hand, advocates hope that this will spark Congress to move on one of the bills working through the law process and create a consistent one across all states.