Regulators and law enforcement agencies in New York and Texas have stepped up enforcement actions against sellers of intoxicating hemp products with raids this month.
In New York, hundreds of hemp shops have been raided or closed since a statewide crackdown was launched in March after lawmakers in Albany gave new powers to police agencies and the state’s Office of Cannabis Management.
Licensed marijuana retailers in New York have backed the enforcement actions, suggesting the widespread availability of gray-market intoxicating hemp products is jeopardizing the state’s nascent legal pot market, estimated at $500 million to $1 billion.
New York State legalized recreational marijuana in 2021, and the first licensed dispensaries began opening in late 2022, but a number of challenges have made the implementation of the state’s program more complicated than initially anticipated – most notably the emergence of the hemp-derived substances made possible by a loophole in federal law.
Challenge nationwide
States throughout the U.S. are working to get their arms around a runaway market for intoxicating hemp products – often called “diet weed,” “marijuana light,” or “gas station pot,” – after the 2018 Farm Bill legalized industrial hemp federally but failed to anticipate the market for intoxicating downstream products that has developed in the intervening years.
Most of the substances are produced synthetically by putting hemp-derived CBD through a process in the lab. In addition to delta-8 THC – the most popular of the compounds – producers are also making synthetic delta-10 THC, THC-O-acetate, HHC, THCP and others.
In addition to being widely available in licensed CBD outlets and hemp shops, the products can also be found in convenience stores, bodegas, and other common retail outlets. Online ads also push the products, which are usually in the form of gummies and other edibles.
Gov. Kathy Hochul, New York City Mayor Eric Adams and other officials say the raids have helped increase sales through regulated marijuana operators.
Read more at Hemp Today