In Texas, the back-and-forth legal debate over delta-8 THC has become quite the source of confusion, especially with the recent news that the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has clarified that the compound is not a Schedule-I substance. What’s a hemp product manufacturer to do in Texas?
This week, Veterans Day threw the issue into stark relief.
“There are a lot of veterans in Texas, and veterans are consistently the people that respond to us saying, ‘Hey, these products are amazing. They've changed my life. They allow me to go outside without anxiety and other stuff, they help with our PTSD,’” Hometown Hero CEO Lukas Gilkey told the Austin American-Statesman. “Almost every single one of the testimonials we receive references somebody's cancer, their chemotherapy, their sleeping issues, their eating issues or their PTSD.”
This has been a consistent point of contention all year, with hemp businesses in many U.S. states finding little choice in the matter. Demand for delta-8 THC products is so great, it would be difficult not to get into the market.
And yet. In an industry as tightly regulated as hemp—to say nothing of state-licensed cannabis landscape—no one wants to run afoul of the law, even if it’s changing from day to day.
We’ve rounded up some of the key cannabis headlines from the week right here.
- A Texas judge has barred the state from listing delta-8 THC as a Schedule I drug, meaning that the cannabis compound is legal in Texas again under the temporary injunction. The saga continues… Read more
- Seth Rogen and Sarah Silverman launched the Cannabis in Common initiative in coordination with reform organization U.S. Cannabis Council (USCC) and HeadCount’s Cannabis Voter Project. Read more
- South Dakota is now taking applications for medical cannabis cards as physicians begin certifying patients for the program. Read more
- Viola Brands launched in Canada through a partnership with Avicanna Inc., a Canadian biopharmaceutical company headquartered in Toronto. Read more
- Cannabis and hemp attorney Rod Kight of Kight Law, who has been closely following and commenting on delta-8, highlighted that the DEA has clarified in 2021 that hemp-derived delta-8 is not a federally controlled substance. Read more
And elsewhere on the web, here are the stories we’ve been reading this week:
- CNBC: “The stars may be aligning for cannabis stocks as they tear higher on hopes around a reported Republican-led legalization effort.” What does that mean long-term? Read more
- Politico: Oklahoma’s free-market approach to medical cannabis has been a boon for the state—and a galvanizing factor in rising crime. Read more
- CTInsider: “Verano Holdings Corp., which has active operations in 12 states, closed its agreement with Willow Brook Wellness on Oct. 25. It signed agreements Wednesday to, if finalized, acquire Caring Nature and Connecticut Pharmaceutical Solutions Inc.” Read more
- WANE: Southern Michigan dispensary owners explain that more than half their customer base is from Indiana. Read more
- Bloomberg: “Germany’s likely next ruling coalition is closing in on a deal to legalize cannabis for recreational use, the strongest signal yet that long-awaited growth of Europe’s marijuana market is gaining traction.” Read more
