Delta-8-THC Sales Boom in the U.S. Due to "Loophole"
takyon writes:
High anxiety over federal weed loophole
Delta-8 THC[*] is an isomer of Delta-9 THC, the compound responsible for marijuana's intoxicating effects. That means the two are largely the same compound, with slight atomic differences. The vast majority of Delta-8 products aren't extracted from cannabis. Instead, producers convert plant-derived CBD into Delta-8 THC using a chemical process called isomerization. The process combines CBD with a solvent, acid and heat to cause the reaction that turns CBD[**] into THC.
[...] When Congress passed the 2018 farm bill legalizing hemp, it was eager to distinguish the crop from marijuana. Hemp and marijuana are the same species of plant, cannabis sativa L., but hemp can't contain more than 0.3 percent THC. The distinction is legal, not scientific.
"It's not clear whether [Delta-8 THC products] are illegal under the 2018 farm bill," said Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the U.S. Hemp Roundtable. "It is clear that it violates the spirit of the law."
[...] The CBD boom of last year led to plummeting prices and a huge glut of CBD isolate in the hemp industry. The Delta-8 trend is giving "processors an outlet for large inventories of CBD isolate they built up," said Ian Laird, chief financial officer at Hemp Benchmarks.
It's attractive for processors and retailers alike as the compound is more profitable than CBD. In January, Delta-8 cost about $1,400 per kilogram, while CBD isolate was selling for about $550 per kilogram.
[...] The call for regulations is a familiar refrain in the CBD industry, which has been begging the FDA to offer regulatory clarity. But it's not an easy task for regulators: There's still much unknown about the chemical process of turning CBD into Delta-8.
"It isn't just a clean one-to-one conversion," said Steven Crowley, compliance specialist at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission. "Fifteen to 30 percent is unknown byproducts."
And not only are there unknown byproducts, producers who cut corners or who simply don't know better may introduce impurities from the solvents and acids used in the process.
[*] Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol. [**] CBD = Cannabidiol.
Read more of this story at SoylentNews.