With Texas officials putting Delta-8 THC on the list of illegal substances, some businesses in Dallas are looking to pursue legal action. The Texas Department of State Health Services released a notice on October 15 which added Delta-8 to the Texas Schedule I Controlled Substance List.
According to the Texas Tribune, this notice led CBD retail stores across the state to remove Delta-8 products from their shelves abruptly.
Christine Perez manages Lazydaze+Coffeeshop in Austin, and she told the Texas Tribune that the notice came as a shock.
“I was very confused, as well as a bunch of other companies. It’s like, ‘What is going on?’ I really have no idea why [the state] would try to ban it or the timing of it. We didn’t hear anything about it from the state,” Perez said.
Anything that contains Delta-8 THC oil, from candy to vapes, will be illegal to sell in the state of Texas. The notice came three years after the substance was made legal on a federal level.
According to WFAA, Delta-8 THC comes from the same plant variant as hemp but has milder effects than Delta-9.
Attorney George Milner of Milner-Finn told WFAA that the health services agency does not have the power to make the substance illegal.
“I suspect they’re threading a very fine line,” Milner said. “This regulatory agency does not have the authority to determine Texas law. Their opinion would be persuasive and might persuade some local DA.”
He suggested store owners pull these products from their shelves anyway.
April Watson owns The Weed Spot, a hemp-infused tea and coffee shop in Bishop Arts. She spoke to WFAA and stated that she and other CBD store owners are planning to pursue legal action.
“You start to worry about your business because people depend on us for quality, healthy, and organic products,” Watson said.
The Texas Tribune states Delta-8 became popular across the state because of the “high” effect similar to marijuana. In 2019, House Bill 1325 allowed for the selling and consumption of hemp products with 0.3% or less THC.
Watson said her Delta-8 products make up 60% to 70% of her business and revenue.
She told WFAA she makes “close to 15,000 dollars a week” from these products.
CBD American Shaman CEO Vince Sanders told WFAA he is considering suing.
“There’s some other people in the industry that are working on things. So we’re kind of standing back to see what they file or what that looks like. We’d rather kind of measure twice and cut once,” Sanders said.
Lisa Pittman, a hemp lawyer, believes Delta-8 could remain illegal for a while.
Pittman told WFAA, “We’ll just have to see how that goes, but I don’t expect delta-8 to be around for a while. Delta-8 derived from marijuana has already long been on the Schedule 1 of the DOJ controlled substances.”
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Delta-8 is one of over a hundred cannabinoid substances that can be extracted from cannabis plants.
