Delta-8 is Legal
The world is full of sensationalized headlines. That has been the case since the dawn of news outlets. These “hooks” have gotten entirely out of hand with the introduction of social media platforms and so-called “fake news” outlets. Sensationalized headlines are one thing—misleading or patently false headlines are quite another.
Recently, there was a headline in a well-known cannabis industry publication which stated that the “DEA Classifies Novel Cannabinoids Delta-8 And -9 THCO As Controlled Substances, Even When Synthesized From Legal Hemp.” This was met with an enormous social media response insisting that the DEA rendered Delta-8 and Delta-9 from hemp as illegal, controlled substances. This is not accurate based on the plain language of federal law. Further, the fairly recent 9th Circuit decision in AK Futures LLC v. Boyd St. Distro, LLC states that Delta-8 products “fit comfortably” within the statutory definition of hemp, concluding that Delta-8 may be “properly understood as a derivative, extract, or cannabinoid originating from the cannabis plant and containing “not more than 0.3 percent’” Delta-9 THC. 35 F.4th 682, 686, 692 (9th Cir. 2022).
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