Delta-8 THC retailers in Texas don’t take surprise bans on their products lightly.
On October 15, the Texas State Department of Health (DSHS) quietly Make a massive change Consumer Cannabis Program Guidelines: In addition to plants containing more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, products containing delta-9–8 THC “in any concentration” is now considered a Schedule I controlled substance as well. The move shocked the state’s powerful Delta 8 industry, which it believed was operating within the purview of state and federal law.
The situation started to gain more attention last week when the Austin-based company started hometown hero File a lawsuit to temporarily block the ban. The district judge denied that request. While delta-8 THC remains illegal in Texas at the moment, a hearing is set for November 5 to determine the future of cannabis-derived cannabis in the Lone Star State.
“This is really out of nowhere. It is not based on science, nor is it based on any real threat to the people of Texans,” Rick Trojan III, Cannabis Industries Board Member, . said Texas Tribune. “The whole thing is baffling to everyone involved. It seems the DSHS doesn’t even understand why they know what they are doing.”
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The complex legal status of Delta-8
Both in Texas and across the country, cannabis is derived from hemp Delta 8 THC Its popularity has skyrocketed in the past year. Congress declared hemp legal in the 2018 Farm Bill. Hemp is the cannabis that contains less than 0.3% delta-9 THC. Manufacturers are able to extract CBD from hemp, then further refine that CBD into delta-8 THC.
Delta-8 manufacturers and advocates argue that D-8 products are legal because they are derived from a legal chain of custody, beginning with hemp. However, opponents argue that delta-8 THC is subject to Federal analog law, which classifies substances that mimic or approximate the effects of Schedule 1 drugs in Schedule 1 as well.
Currently Delta 8 remains Unregulated and unrestricted in about 30 states.
In Texas, Delta 8 manufacturers and sellers thought they too were in a clear position under state law.
In 2019, the state legislature passed House Bill 1325, which confirmed that cannabis plants containing less than 0.3% delta-9 THC were legal.
As a result, Delta 8’s popularity has skyrocketed throughout Texas, where traditional cannabis remains largely illegal even for medical patients. Countless companies sell Delta 8 products as foods, vapes, and more. Series Vape CityLtd., for example, which has 75 locations across the state, sells Delta 8 products but pulled them off its shelves after a recent DSHS policy change.
How has this rule changed?
Retailers are as frustrated with Texas’ strategy of changing policy as with the ban itself.
For their part, state officials argue that Delta 8 THC has in fact been illegal since the House passed 1325, and that their latest publication is only meant to clarify state policy.
Furthermore, they argued that the discrimination was announced a year earlier, and that they held a public hearing about it in October 2020. However, no Delta 8 retailer was aware of either the notification or the hearing, in part due to, such as Texas TribuneKevin Reynolds mentionedThe notification was created only as an image and not in text. In other words, it was difficult to find it online because it was not searchable. Anyone who has stayed on top of a cannabis or delta-9 THC change with Google Alert will not see any hearing information pop up in the alert. No one came to the hearing.
“It has been made clear that by posting meeting notices in obscure locations, the DSHS has denied the public an opportunity to influence proposed changes to the Controlled Substances Act,” said Heather Fazio, Director of the Controlled Substances Act. Texas for Responsible Marijuana PolicyAnd Tell marijuana moment.
And now, retailers have decided to take the matter to the courts.
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Coordinated legal response
Last week, Hometown Hero and Sky Market Corp. filed a lawsuit against the state health department, asking for a temporary restraining order (TRO) to be placed on the ban. Attorney David Sergey, who represents Sky Market, told state district judge Gary Harger that “DSHS’ position turns the definition of cannabis on its head.”
However, Harger didn’t have any of it, and Refuse to block ban On October 22.
However, the case has not been decided. Since then, Hometown CEO Hero Lukas Gilkey has made several appeals to associates to request their own Temporary Restriction Orders (TROs).
“It’s a big deal. I understand that our families’ lives are at stake one youtube video. “I know for sure that we can get one of this damned. [TROs] agreed.”
At least one other company answered his call. Vape City has filed a lawsuit very similar to Hometown Hero and Sky Market Corp’s. As of this writing, Vape City officials have not received a response.
“At the moment, Vape City is panicking,” said the company’s CEO, Ali Sheikhani Tell krone. “People don’t know if we sell it. We took all Delta 8 products. They are confused. What are we going to tell customers?”
Delta 8’s industry in Texas will begin its next day in court on November 5. And Leafly will continue to follow this evolving story.
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