How you can legally get THC anywhere in the United States

This morning, New York finally passed a law to legalize recreational cannabis, making it the 16th state to do so and the second largest in terms of population after California. Participating legally for fun is now an option for around 91 million Americans over the age of 21 – but even if you’re not one of them, you don’t have to let the FOMO stoner rule your life. Because there’s actually a 100% federally legal way to consume THC – and get high – no matter where you live.

I learned this by learning almost everything these days, from a podcast, especially from an ad at one of the the many movie podcasts I listen to when I need to calm my restless mind. The ad promoted a company selling something called delta-8 THC, which is a modified form of THC – the most famous of the psychoactive chemicals in cannabis, and whoever is most responsible for making you feel high– Derived from hemp.

How is this stuff legal?

Like largely non-psychoactive CBD, delta-8 THC is federally legal (or, perhaps more accurately, technically not sickegal) due to a flaw in the 2018 Farm Bill that allows a wide cultivation of hemp and products derived from hemp. According to the nonprofit public policy group The Brookings Institution, the bill “places no restrictions on the sale, transportation or possession of hemp-derived products, provided those items are produced from a in accordance with the law ”.

The Farm Bill did not seek to legalize weed, so it has a specific restriction on the levels of THC that can be included in these different hemp products (from oils to tinctures): .3%, a trace too small for blitz you or have a strong psychoactive effect (although your mileage may vary depending on whether your CBD oil is “full spectrum”, your personal tolerance levels, or your sensitivity to the placebo effect).

But here’s the tricky part: the Farm Bill specifies that hemp-based products cannot contain more than 0.3% ”concentration of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol. And since this is a separate substance – and just one of over 120 other naturally occurring cannabinoids known to exist in the hemp plant, according to a Harris Bricken law firm policy article—Which is delta-8 Totally “legal” THC.

You know, technically. For the time being, at least – in a 2020 decision, the Drug Enforcement Agency said that “synthetic tetrahydrocannabinols” remain Schedule I controlled substances. It’s just that no one has yet wondered whether delta-8 THC qualified as one of those, meaning the sale of products containing the stuff. currently under the jurisdiction of the Food and Drug Administration, just like CBD. But that could change at any time – and in fact, commercial cannabis sellers are actively campaigning to make this happen, concerned about competing with a cheaper product for customers’ money.

How delta-8 THC is made

The Farm Bill states that to be legal, hemp-derived products must be exactly that; technically you can extract delta-8 THC from cannabis plants that also contain large amounts of “regular” THC, but that would be illegal.

The process begins with the entire hemp flower, which should be chemically distilled to isolate the cannabinoid delta-8 THC. The resulting distillate can then be further concentrated and made into various products that are what consumers might expect if they have ever purchased cannabis legally, from edibles to oils.

Does it work?

Great, delta-8 THC is legal and unlike cannabis products, even in states where the weed is legal, it can be mailed through companies like the one I heard about in this article. podcast. I learned this quite easily from my research on the internet, but if the fervor around CBD oil is any indication, there are many companies that are more than happy to announce products with bold claims about their effects. . when they don’t really have to offer proof save them. This particular THC delta-8 supplier promised all the benefits of regular consumption of ol ‘reefer – calling it a “more functional substitute for Delta-9 THC” – without any of the potential (slightly questionable) negative effects, namely: “Addiction, sleep problems, paranoia, anxiety, laziness, etc.”

My initial reaction was that I wouldn’t believe it until I experienced it, but wanted a second opinion so I turned to Reddit as my hangout to learn everything I could possibly want to know about the high. (There are subreddits for almost every state with legal weed, discussing the varieties and retailers available locally, and offering tips for beginners.) And Reddit had many say about delta-8 THC, most exactly what you would like to hear if you bother to research. In short: Yeah, it’ll get you high.

What the “high” looks like is going to differ from person to person – but it is always the case with any psychoactive substance, from Pimple to Budweiser. But the consensus for delta-8 THC, both from the company selling it and from Redditor reviews, seems to be that it definitely has potent effects, albeit different from Delta-9 THC. More precisely, it is “Lighter” and has a “more soothing effect” and will give you a good “buzz” while leaving you lucid enough to go about your daily business.

This all sounded good to me, so I decided it was worth risking an order – an easier decision, given that delta-8 THC products are much cheaper than legal cannabis for sale in others. States. I picked up a 16-pack of gummies for around $ 30, but you can also order vapes and tinctures, as well as concentrates (if you’d rather make your own edibles). They arrived in no time, and I admit it was a bit strange to open a seemingly illegal product that I had received by regular mail, although I felt the same about orders from CBD oil in the past. But what really interested me was whether these erasers would actually work as advertised.

I ate two of these, as I am not inexperienced in consuming legal cannabis and the consensus on Reddit seemed to be that delta-8 THC is about half the potency /effective. In 45 minutes, I knew I was getting my money’s worth. As promised, I experienced some familiar effects near weeds: lightness in the body, increased focus, increased appetite, increased hilarity of Sponge Bob SquarePants“If with less intensity and without the confusion or brain fog that can come from getting hit with a heavy eyelid, so to speak.

Will delta-8 THC replace other products as the substance of choice? If you have access to both your state and your primary focus is get stoned, mate, probably not. If you are looking for an intoxicant with more subtle effects, however, you might actually prefer it – and, like I said, it’s also cheaper. What if you live in a state where cannabis is still illegal or not yet commercially available? This could be exactly what you were looking for.