What looks like pot, acts like pot, but is legal almost everywhere? Get to know Delta-9-THC, which is derived from hemp

What looks like pot, acts like pot, but is legal almost everywhere? Get to know Delta-9-THC, which is derived from hemp

It wasn't shocking that people listening to musicians playing Grateful Dead and Phish songs at a dive bar here in October were interested in trying a new drink containing delta-9-THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in weed.

What was unusual was that a bar owner - in this case Joshua Grigaitis of Pop's Blue Moon - would grab cans of the drink and give them to customers without looking over his shoulder Recreational pot remains illegal, currently. Missouri voters will decide whether to liberalize the law in the November 8 election.

"Contains 10 mg of the good stuff, which is less than 0.3 percent by volume. This means it can be sold almost anywhere!" Grigaitis posted on Facebook last month announcing his new products Powerful species Cannabis-infused beverage company: hemp-derived Delta-9 THC seltzer in “cherry blossom” or “heady lemon” flavors.

Grigaitis believes he is on solid legal ground when selling the seltzer because it comes from hemp, not marijuana, two plants in the same cannabis genus. Still, he labels the cans with the THC volume percentage, which references a federal limit allowed for hemp, and awaits review of his product.

Instead of offering his drink to the crowded medical and adult-use marijuana market — which remains illegal at the federal level and faces costly taxes and regulations where it is legal at the state level — Grigaitis believes a loophole in a federal hemp law will allow him to sell a product that generates the same buzz at his bar, online and just about everywhere else.

As such, he said, hemp-derived delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol products have the “potential to disrupt the entire cannabis industry.”

Grigaitis is not the only one who senses an opportunity. According to , around 120 brands sell hemp-derived Delta-9 products online April study published from CBD Oracle, which reports on the industry.

But others in the cannabis industry are concerned about the loophole and are seeking federal legislation to prevent people from selling intoxicating hemp products outside of dispensaries. They say some of the products are not safe because minors could access them more easily than products from pharmacies. And they are generally not subject to the oversight of government regulatory systems. The critics also claim that the products undermine the intent of a 2018 federal law that removed hemp from the federal list of controlled substances.

“The medical marijuana and recreational marijuana industries are so heavily regulated that IDs, passports and driver’s licenses are all very tightly held at these dispensaries,” said Eric Wang, vice president of sustainability at the US Hemp Roundtable a Kentucky-based trade group.

In contrast, he said, a 12- or 13-year-old child can legally purchase a hemp-derived product.

When a bipartisan group of lawmakers passed the 2018 Farm Bill, the announced goal was to help struggling farmers by allowing them to grow industrial hemp. The law also meant people could sell CBD across state lines. CBD has since grown into a multibillion-dollar industry.

Senate Majority Leader at the time Mitch McConnell a Kentucky Republican who sponsored the legislation said of hemp that “everyone has figured out that this is not the other plant.”

The main difference between marijuana and hemp is that hemp contains very small amounts of THC. The Federal law states that it must contain no more than 0.3% delta-9-THC on a dry weight basis.

Grigaitis argues that his hemp-derived Delta-9 drink is legal because the amount of THC in the drink is less than 0.3% of the weight of the liquid.

"This is supported by my lawyers, my testing labs, my insurance, my bank - everyone," said Grigaitis, whose Mighty Kind drinks are featured in the recent Kevin Smith film "Clerks III."

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Its hemp-derived delta-9 is produced through one of two methods: by extracting the cannabinoid from the hemp plant itself or through a chemical transformation in which CBD from the hemp is dissolved in a solvent, Grigaitis said. The company is exploring both methods to determine the advantages and disadvantages of each, he said.

Since the source is hemp rather than marijuana, he sees a clear path to selling his product beyond dispensaries, which come with extensive regulations and taxes and therefore narrow profit margins. Why would he sell at a dispensary, he asked, "when you could go next door to a CBD store or a vape shop or a grocery store or a bar and sell your stuff?"

However, some in the industry disagree with Grigaitis' interpretation of the federal law. Dry weight percentage refers to the amount in the plant, not a drink, said Jonathan Miller, general counsel for the Hemp Roundtable.

Rep. Chelli Pingree (D-Maine) has introduced legislation that would amend the 2018 law with additional restrictions on hemp-derived products. Pingree spokeswoman Victoria Bonney said the congresswoman was not available for an interview.

At least a dozen states have now passed laws restricting someone else's sale Substance derived from hemp, Delta-8, which is also intoxicating, but not as strong as delta-9. However, states have been slow to catch up with these new drug products.

Miller hopes parts of Pingree's legislation will be included in the 2023 Farm Bill since the 2018 law expires next year. The Roundtable is seeking regulations to limit the amount of THC in finished products, rather than just the plant, and to limit sales of intoxicating hemp products to the adult market, such as: B. in a pot pharmacy, said Miller. Alternatively, the group wants it to be regulated like alcohol.

The organization includes board members from some of the largest companies in the adult-use marijuana market, including its president, Pete Meachum. He is a lobbyist employed by Cronos Group, a Canadian cannabis company whose largest shareholder is Altria, maker of Marlboro cigarettes and investor in Juul. Meachum declined an interview request.

“Anything that threatens the exclusivity of the regulated market will worry those who have invested their time and money in it,” Grigaitis said.

But Miller said that with new federal regulations, hemp-derived products would be available "in the same places you can buy marijuana products, so there would be a level playing field."

Other industry groups and the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws have also called on the FDA to regulate hemp-derived products.

Meanwhile, pop's Blue Moon patrons didn't seem concerned about the lack of regulation and were happy to try Grigaitis' new seltzer. Harper Britz, a 21-year-old who works in the music industry, said she got a pleasant buzz from the seltzer. She liked that she could taste the cannabis.

“It gets this aroma to your nose, just like when you smell wine,” said Britz, who lives in St. Louis and said she uses cannabis regularly. “I would probably drink this every day if I could.”

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