More state governments are joining the growing chorus that would ban synthetic, hemp-derived delta-8 THC, with Arkansas, West Virginia and Texas the most recent to take such measures under consideration.
If the bans are implemented, those states would join 15 others that have explicitly outlawed delta-8 – and intensify the struggles for a CBD industry that is already reeling.
With an estimated 75% of the current supply of CBD going into the production of unregulated delta-8 products, the growing clampdown is sure to mean more attrition in the CBD sector, where demand for over-the-counter CBD oils and other products did not reach inflated expectations and an oversupply of raw materials back down the supply chain caused hemp biomass prices to plunge by as much as 90% over the past three years.
The Arkansas bill would “prohibit the growth, processing, sale, transfer, or possession of industrial hemp that contains certain delta tetrahydrocannabinol substances” and put delta-8, delta-9 and delta-10 THC on the state’s list of narcotic substances. The Arkansas Department of Health is reported to already be working on a clarification to its controlled substances list.
A sweeping bill in Texas seeks to clarify that all synthetically produced THC is illegal, and prohibits sales of all “consumable hemp products containing cannabinoids to consumers.”
And in West Virginia lawmakers have proposed a ban through a bill its misguided authors say “will immediately protect our children and deal with what many call ‘the next opiate crisis’” – an alarming stretch by any measure. The bill was introduced in the State House of Delegates this month, after previously being passed by the State Senate.
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