April Newsletter
-The Alternative Products Expo promoters held an event in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on March 11-13. The advertisement boasted learning from “50+ expert speakers about all aspects of Delta-8, CBD/Hemp, and other alternative products!” as one of the main draws.
-It appears that NFTs and Delta-8 are becoming popular co-branding opportunities. Even after reading about it, I still don’t quite understand how an Alibi delta-8 gummy can be NFT-themed.
-And a ballsy Missouri Bud Man sold ‘Delta-8 flowers’ at St. Louis’ historic Soulard Farmers Market, like it was walnuts or something. Under the cover of CBD laws, Bud Man charged ‘$5,000 for 10 pounds. (There’s no such thing as delta-8 flowers, it’s usually hemp flower sprayed with D-8 distillate.)
State news
-The Georgia Senate sent back a hemp bill to committee after lawmakers noticed language that would have unintentionally made Delta-8 legal.
-Regulators in Illinois issued a policy statement that blocks licensed cannabis businesses from producing Delta-8 or Delta-9 THC using hemp oil.
-Kansas’s attorney general issued an opinion saying Delta-8 THC is only legal if derived from hemp. Products containing it must not exceed 0.3% total THC.
-In Kentucky, the Senate Agriculture Committee approved a bill to ban Delta-8. By the end of the month, after conferring with advocates in the state’s hemp industry, Sen. Paul Hornback, who sponsored the bill, asked legislators to hold the bill while he amended it so that it will only prohibit sales to those under 21.
-Minnesota regulators voted to allow small amounts of THC in over-the-counter hemp products. According to lobbyist and activist Kurtis Hanna, this ruling by the state’s Pharmacy Board finally allows the purchase and possession of Delta-8, Delta-10 and CBD, though sales will have to be addressed by the legislature at a future date.
-A bill introduced in Tennessee would further limit the allowed Delta-8 THC content to 0.3%.
-Utah lawmakers banned smokable hemp and putting CBD in food, deferring to federal authorities instead, but Delta-8 managed to emerge unscathed. The ban specifically excludes “any cannabinoid that has been intentionally created using a process to convert one cannabinoid to another,” which is how Delta-8 THC is usually produced.
-Virginia lawmakers passed a convoluted measure that redefines marijuana in a way that’s intended to regulate sales of Delta-8. It was rewritten to broaden the definition of marijuana to include any substance containing a total THC concentration over 0.3%, which includes Delta-8 and other related cannabinoids. A license would be required to sell it.
-In Washington, last-minute disagreements about the rise of hemp-derived THC products derailed legislative proposals to ban the sale of hemp-derived Delta-8. Lawmakers quarreled about how much authority to give the state’s Liquor and Cannabis Board and ultimately failed to arrive at a compromise.