Rod Kight Comments On Delta 8 THC Issues In Article., “The DELTA-8 THC Controversy

Here are Kight’s Comments In The Piece Published By Project CBD

The full article can be read at.  https://www.projectcbd.org/politics/delta-8-thc-controversy?utm_source=Project+CBD+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=045d0b9f65-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_26_07_50_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ea5031784e-045d0b9f65-6773181

 

THE BENEFIT OF MR. KIGHT

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Rod Kight

The most aggressive and sophisticated of these boosters is Rod Kight, a North Carolina attorney who is currently representing the Hemp Industries Association and other plaintiffs in a federal court challenge to the DEA’s Interim Final Rule of last August. The case actually does not concern Delta-8; it involves the DEA’s classification of “waste hemp material,” which may contain THC, as a Schedule I substance.

On his blog, Kight contends that Delta-8 THC is legal because “tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp” are not controlled substances, according to the Farm Bill. But this argument hinges entirely on whether the Delta-8 now being marketed was, in fact, “in” hemp to begin with — or was it synthesized from “tetrahydrocannabinols in hemp”?

Project CBD spoke by phone to Kight at his office in Asheville to better understand his views on the matter. “I consider Delta-8 to be a hemp extract,” he says. “Or, the clearer way to say it is that is Delta-8 can be extracted from hemp. If Delta-8 is extracted from hemp, it’s legal — and that’s undoubtedly the case. Delta-8, while remarkably similar to Delta-9, is not Delta-9. And CBD derived from hemp is actually hemp from a statutory legal standpoint because hemp derivatives are also hemp under the Farm Bill.”

Kight’s quixotic quest for a legal loophole is reminiscent of the persistent stoner folklore that Cannabis Indica is actually legal because federal law only references Cannabis Sativa. The legendary botanist Richard Evans Schultes actually testified in court to this effect on behalf of cannabis defendants in the 1970s. But the court didn’t buy it, finding that the meaning of the name Cannabis Sativa was for legal purposes in the domain of judicial, not scientific, authority.

GOOD GUYS & BAD GUYS

Kight credits the Delta-8 boom with being a salvation for a new business sector in a very challenging time. “It single-handedly saved the hemp industry during the COVID-19 recession,” he asserts. “I say this based on communications with numerous clients. It’s been responsible for saving a large number of my clients.”

He also refers to the pruported therapeutic benefits of Delta-8 THC: “It doesn’t have the paranoia effects associated with Delta-9 THC. It’s also effective against nausea. There are a lot of reasons people are purchasing Delta-8. I’m surprised how many people prefer it over Delta-9 products.”

Kight does acknowledge that there is reason to be concerned about the lack of oversight for unregulated Delta-8 products that are falling through legal cracks.

“There’s a lot of bathtub gin being made out there,” he states metaphorically. “We oppose that. My clients are very concerned with the safety of their products. It takes time for regulations to catch up with the development of products, that’s a big issue for sure. And testing protocols have not been standardized — the DEA and most state labs don’t even know how to distinguish between Delta-8 and Delta-9. One of the concerns in the industry is getting these methodologies in place so the good guys can continue to operate and the bad guys cannot.”

 

Read full article https://www.projectcbd.org/politics/delta-8-thc-controversy?utm_source=Project+CBD+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=045d0b9f65-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_02_26_07_50_COPY_03&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ea5031784e-045d0b9f65-6773181

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