Having bounced between Massachusetts and Illinois — two states where marijuana is legal recreationally and medicinally — since 2016, I’m no stranger to legal weed. But for other Americans, delta-8 THC is the closest they can get to the real thing without breaking the law.
Delta-8 exists in a legal loophole, thanks to the 2018 farm bill. The law permits the cultivation of hemp and essentially legalized CBD and any other compounds derived from the plant. However, there’s still some confusion over whether delta-8 is technically legal.
Alex Buscher, a lawyer in Colorado who specializes in hemp and cannabis law, told Insider that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s interim guidance on the farm bill implied that any form of THC extracted in a lab — including delta-8 — is synthetic, making it a Schedule I substance.
That means dealing with delta-8 “is not without significant legal risk,” Buscher said. But from his viewpoint, as long as it’s derived from hemp, delta-8 THC should not be a controlled substance. With recreational cannabis legalization on the horizon in New York, I doubt I’ll make a habit of getting high on delta-8. But for those who don’t have access to legal weed, this up-and-coming cannabinoid is pretty close to the real thing.
The goods at OMG! 420 Mix contains delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, a version of THC that’s derived from hemp. Legally, delta-8 is similar to cannabidiol, or CBD, another hemp-derived compound that’s permitted but largely unregulated.
Unlike CBD, delta-8 THC will get you high — maybe not as high as regular weed, but I can attest that consuming enough of this cannabinoid will leave you giggly and a little slow to form full sentences.
