The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) has added a statement to its website declaring that delta-8 THC is illegal under state law.
“Texas Health and Safety Code Chapter 443 (HSC 443), established by House Bill 1325 (86th Legislature), allows Consumable Hemp Products in Texas that do not exceed 0.3% Delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC),” the website reads. “All other forms of THC, including Delta-8 in any concentration and Delta-9 exceeding 0.3%, are considered Schedule I controlled substances.”
Until now, businesses have sold products containing the compound under a grey area of the law, according to the Dallas Observer.
Gov. Greg Abbott signed H.B. 1325 into law in 2019, after the 2018 Farm Bill federally legalized industrial hemp, to legalize the cultivation of hemp that contains less than 0.3% delta-9 THC in Texas. The law did not specifically address delta-8, however, and manufacturers have since ramped up the production of delta-8 products under the assumption that it is legal in Texas, the Dallas Observer reported.
Now that the DSHS has clarified its stance and declared delta-8 a Schedule I controlled substance, this grey area of the law has been eliminated.
“The statement was added to the DSHS website to clarify for consumable hemp product licensees and retail sellers that Delta-8 and all other forms of THC are still on the list of Schedule I controlled substances,” the department told the Dallas Observer.
