Delta 8 State Legality

Believe it or not, there are at least 144 known cannabinoids that can be isolated from the cannabis plant. One of the most known among these is Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the primary psychoactive compound with the ability to get a person high. Yet, another cannabinoid with more than half of the potency of Delta-9-THC seems to be challenging its dominance of late.

And no, it’s neither CBN nor CBC and CBG; it is Delta-8-THC.

With the Farm Bill of December 2018, Delta 8 was federally legalized but it wasn’t until the next year that retailers started selling Delta 8 THC cartridges, tinctures, gummies, and more. But even then, with Delta 8 THC still illegal in many states like Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, and Utah, the Delta 8 state legality remains complicated.

Read this post to learn why and how this federally legal cannabinoid is still illegal in many states!

Source of Delta 8 THC
​The small differences in the name might seem like little details, but it actually tells how cannabinoids are sourced, which also changes delta-8 state legality. The legislation that legalized Delta 8 states that all derivatives of hemp are legal in the United States as long as they do not contain more than 0.3% THC. By this statement, Delta 8 THC products are legal if they are sourced from hemp and the product does not have more than 0.3% Delta 9 THC.

Now the problem is that the process most commonly used to produce Delta-8 that is synthetically altering CBD into Delta-8-THC isn’t always legal. While many states are struggling to build the infrastructure to identify legal hemp, there are many that do not even have the ability to correctly and scientifically establish how a sample of Delta-8-THC was sourced. This is mainly why Delta 8 THC remains illegal in many states.

Federal Scheduling
Unlike its more potent brother – Delta-9 THC, Delta-8 has no federal scheduling. So this makes it possible to fail a drug test from the use of delta-8 as result. Since these tests do not test for specific types of THC, but rather THC metabolites, which are the result of the body processing any form of THC, it is impossible to identify the type of THC present in the body. It is like finding a popsicle stick but being unable to tell what flavour the person ate.

Bottom Line
With the increasing popularity of Delta 8 THC, more and more states are flipping and embracing the green wave. While it is impossible to predict the future, with a lot of businesses diving headfirst into the Delta-8 market, Delta-8 THC is likely to be legalized across all states in the coming years.