If you’ve recently stopped by the CBD store down the street or visited one of the many websites selling CBD online, you may have seen something odd – right alongside the CBD oils and tinctures, CBD gummies, and vape juice.
Delta-8-THC.
That leads to a lot of questions.
- First of all, what’s THC doing in a CBD store? Isn’t that only supposed to be sold in a marijuana dispensary?
- Second, what is Delta-8-THC? Is it just a cleverly named CBD brand? Is it synthetic weed? What’s with the “Delta-8?”
- And most importantly: is this really legal?
You have questions. We have answers.
Delta-8-THC: The Brief FAQ
Let’s start with the simple answers.
- Delta-8-THC, or Delta-8 as it’s commonly known, is not a form of CBD. And Delta-8 is a product, not a brand name.
- Delta-8-THC is a form of substance that’s in marijuana and gets you high.
- Delta-8 is not a synthetic pot, or anything else synthetic. It’s natural. (The word “synthetic” is a tricky one, though, as we’ll discuss shortly) (1).
- Delta-8 is sold in CBD stores and on CBD websites because – to be completely honest – there’s no law specifically prohibiting it from being sold there.
As for the “is this really legal?” question: yes, for now. But it’s complicated.
To understand the legal ins and outs, we have to first answer the most important question of all.
Exactly What Is Delta-8-THC?
As we’ve mentioned, Delta-8 is a form of THC, the psychoactive substance responsible for the mind-altering effects we all associate with marijuana – and many of the medicinal benefits of the pot.
But it’s not the “same THC” that gets you stoned when you smoke up. That’s Delta-9-THC.
Confused yet? We thought so. To clear things up, let’s dig a little deeper into exactly what’s in cannabis.
Cannabinoids
Even those with just a slight familiarity with the subject have heard the term “cannabinoids” (2). They’re the active components in cannabis, primarily responsible for the plant’s effects when its byproducts are smoked or ingested. (Cannabis also contains also other substances like terpenes and flavonoids, but that’s another subject for another day.)
There are well over 100 different cannabinoids in each of the two types of cannabis, marijuana, and hemp. (Yes, hemp is also a variety of cannabis plants.) The two that most people know about are THC and CBD, but many other cannabinoids are present in lesser amounts. Both THC and CBD are naturally found in marijuana and hemp plants; the primary difference is that there’s a lot of THC in weed and just a minuscule amount in hemp.
To be legally sold in locations other than marijuana dispensaries, CBD (scientific name: cannabidiol) cannot contain more than 0.3% THC content (3). That’s why the CBD that’s commercially available is sourced from hemp, not pot. This is an important distinction, and we’ll get back to it.
But here’s a key point to understand. Nearly everyone talks about the psychoactive THC in marijuana – but that’s not its full biological name. It’s really called Delta-9-THC (4). Delta-9 is the cannabinoid that’s prominently contained in marijuana, and nearly absent from hemp and its by-products.
One of the other cannabinoids found in both types of cannabis? Delta-8-THC.
Delta-8 Is Not Delta-9
It would be natural to confuse Delta-8-THC (usually just…
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