https://www.marijuanamoment.net/delta-8-thc-is-legal-hemp-fed-court-rules-newsletter-may-23-2022/
In a recent ruling a Federal Panel wrote in an opinion published last Thursday that Delta-8-THC is perfectly legal Hemp – despite it being a psychoactive compound! What this means is that all of those folks who are growing hemp to produce Delta-8, for now – in a court case you’ll probably win everytime due to the protections of the Farm Bill of 2018 which allows for the cultivation of hemp with less than 0.3% of Delta-9 THC…but that also says nothing of Delta-8. Meaning that Delta-8 falls under the category of “hemp” legally!
A panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit wrote in an opinion published Thursday that products containing delta-8 THC are generally legal because federal law defines hemp as “any part of” the cannabis plant, including “all derivatives, extracts, [and] cannabinoids,” that contains less than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC by weight.
The law, the court said in the 3-0 ruling, “is silent with regard to delta-8 THC.”
Delta-9 THC, often referred to simply as THC, is the most abundant psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana and remains federally illegal, classified as a Schedule I controlled substance. By contrast, Delta-8 THC typically occurs in only trace amounts in the cannabis plant.
Current cultivation and manufacturing techniques, however, allow for so-called minor cannabinoids to be concentrated from hemp plants and refined into consumer products. And delta-8 THC products have surged in popularity in recent years, especially in states where marijuana remains illegal. – Marijuana Moment
Let’s be honest – the only reason why we’re even talking about Delta-8 is because it’s a psychoactive compound similar to delta-9 THC. For some reason, “getting high” is technically the only reason why there are any rules against marijuana – and the fact that Congress wasn’t able to forsee that other psychoactive compounds of cannabis in their bill – is on them.
The panel of federal judges agreed – this is Congress’ problem;
“Regardless of the wisdom of legalizing delta-8 THC products, this Court will not substitute its own policy judgment for that of Congress,” Judge D. Michael Fisher wrote for the three-judge panel, which also included Judges Andrew Kleinfeld and Mark Bennett. All three were appointed by Republican presidents.
If lawmakers inadvertently created a loophole and didn’t intend to legalize psychoactive substances such as delta-8 THC, Fisher said, “then it is for Congress to fix its mistake.” – Marijuana Moment
But why were they looking into this problem anyhow?
The reason why the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals even looked into the Delta-8 case was over a trademark infringement suit in California.
A brand named AK Futures claimed that a California brand Boyd Street Distro ripped off their products and were infringing on their trademark. The defense of Boyd was that there are no trademark on federally prohibited substances – in which they assumed that Delta-8 was also partisan too.
However, according this this latest ruling, it would mean that the Californian based company is in breach of trademark. While this isn’t a big deal at the moment, since the company in question purchased their supplies from an alleged “registered vendor”, but have no interest in selling more of the product from that supplier. At least this was their official statement.
Legal ClusterF*ck!
The big issue around this debate isn’t the legality of Delta 8-, it’s the absurdity of making THC illegal. We now have more than enough research to indicate that cannabis is far safer than alcohol. We know that nobody can have a fatal overdose from THC and we know that it actually works in synergy with cannabinoids like CBD.
The mere fact that cannabis isn’t legal in its totality is the reason why people have to go to the courts to clarify if one trace cannabinoid is legal or not.
Dale Gieringer, NORML’s California director, told the Chronicle that it would make more sense from a policy perspective to simply legalize delta-9 THC, which he said “has been studied exhaustively in thousands of subjects and research protocols over the decades.” – Marijuana Monument
The truth is, if we simply removed these rules that don’t protect anyone – industry would have a lot more wiggle-room for growth. Something in a time when inflation is hitting record highs is desperately needed.
Big Win For Prohibition States
Delta-8 has been a Trojan horse bypassing harsh prohibition laws in places such as Texas and the likes. Now with the Feds saying that it’s basically hemp, you can get blitzed on Delta-8 without any fear of legal repercussions. Similarly, vendors in these areas now have legal recourse and can effectively sell psychoactive substances technically to anyone under the age of 18, since there isn’t an age restriction on hemp.
Of course, I don’t think ethically you should sell Delta-8 THC to minors, but technically you can if it’s considered legal hemp. Of course, doing so would be the quickest way to make it illegal again so don’t ruin a perfectly legal business by selling it to some punk kids.
HOW DELTA-8 THC GOT LEGAL, READ MORE...
HOW DID DELTA-8 THC GET RULED AS LEGAL HEMP - THE DEFINITION OF INTOXICATING!
