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- Delta-8 THC is gaining popularity as a new herbal compound that is fundamentally legal.
- This cannabinoid gets you high, but it’s less potent than other types of THC and possibly less anxiety-inducing.
- Like CBD, delta-8 can be derived from hemp and exists in a legal loophole.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
I didn’t ask any questions as I stood in line at Wake-N-Bakery in Chicago and accepted a free weed-infused Sour Patch watermelon from a barista’s gloved hands.
After all, I wasn’t quite sure how it all worked.
My friend found the Weed Cafe on TikTok – a place that seems to exist in a legal loophole, where no one checks IDs and just about anyone can get high from their THC pastries and coffees.
I took the free appetizer and chewed it on while I waited and decided what to order.
Wake-N-Bakery’s products contain delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, a version of THC derived from hemp. Legally, delta-8 is similar to cannabidiol (CBD), another compound derived from hemp that is licensed but largely unregulated.
Unlike CBD, Delta-8 THC will get you high – maybe not as high as regular weed, but I can attest that getting enough of this cannabinoid will leave you laughing and a little slow to form full sentences.
Delta-8 is a less potent version of THC that most people are familiar with
If you are currently using cannabis, you have probably used delta-9 THC. Delta-8 is almost identical to the cannabinoid OG, but a single shifted chemical bond means it has different effects.
Experts estimate that delta-8 has between half and three-quarters of the potency of delta-9 THC. However, that doesn’t mean it can’t bake you in the oven, cannabis specialist Dr Peter Grinspoon told Insider.
“It’s less potent, but that doesn’t mean it gets you less high,” said Grinspoon, primary care physician at Harvard Medical. “It’s like you can’t pretend beer makes you less drunk than vodka.”
Just like you would need to drink multiple beers to reach the level of drunk vodka, you need to consume more delta-8 to feel as high as you would on delta-9.
With that in mind, my friend and I split a 75 milligram lemon poppy seed scone with our 25 mg drinks. (She had a Cannatonic Latte, and I was delighted to order a fall latte called Snoop’s Apple Pie.)
Frankly, that’s a lot more than my target dose for regular edibles – the standard recreational dose for edibles is between 2.5 and 15 mg of delta-9 THC, according to the cannabis website Leafly. But I wasn’t convinced this backdoor cannabinoid was going to have an effect.
“If you take delta-8 expecting your ass banged, you’re not going to like it,” Adam Rahman, CEO of Fresh Bros Hemp Company, told me.
Based on my Wake-N-Bakery experience, I disagree. The apple cider and scone were delicious, but deceptively strong. Fortunately, I didn’t feel anxious or paranoid, which may be a unique advantage of the Delta-8.
Delta-8 appears to be a less anxiety-inducing form of weed
Cannabis has been proven to have a variety of medical benefits, from reducing nausea to relieving chronic pain. But weed-induced anxiety keeps some people from trying THC.
“I can’t tell you how many patients I have who say, ‘I’d love to use medical cannabis instead of opiates for pain, except it makes me anxious,'” Grinspoon told Insider.
Some people who have tried delta-8 THC – including myself – say it is less anxiety-inducing than its cannabinoid sister. Rahman said tearing up his delta-8 vape pen made him feel clear-headed, creative and relaxed.
“It’s like the perfect balance between THC and CBD,” Rahman said. “CBD doesn’t always give you a high that you can feel, but I think delta-8 has the medicinal benefits and shows the effects.”
As a newly popular cannabinoid, delta-8 THC has not been studied as much as delta-9 or CBD. A 1995 study on delta-8 showed that the cannabinoid prevented vomiting in eight children undergoing cancer treatment. If larger-scale research proves that delta-8 has similar therapeutic effects, it could become an ideal option for medical cannabis seekers who feel constrained by anxiety, Grinspoon said.
Even without any scientific research confirming its effects, delta-8 is “definitely this new product that everyone seems to want,” Rahman told me. He said that while there are still some seasoned customers who prefer CBD, delta-8 THC is quickly becoming the most demanded cannabinoid in hemp stores.
Delta-8 could be a loophole for weed researchers as cannabis is illegal federally
Having rebounded between Massachusetts and Illinois – two states where marijuana is legal for both recreational and medicinal purposes – since 2016, I’m no stranger to legal weed. But for other Americans, delta-8 THC is closest to the real thing without breaking the law.
Delta-8 exists in a legal loophole, thanks to the Farm Bill of 2018. The law allows the cultivation of legalized hemp and CBD and any other compound derived from the plant. However, there is still some confusion over whether Delta-8 is technically legal.
Alex Buscher, a Colorado-based attorney specializing in hemp and cannabis law, told Insider that the Drug Enforcement Administration’s interim guidelines on the Farm Bill imply that any form of THC extracted in a lab – including delta-8 – is synthetic, making it a Schedule I substance.
This means that processing delta-8 “is not without significant legal risk,” Buscher said. But from his perspective, as long as it’s derived from hemp, delta-8 THC shouldn’t be a controlled substance.
With the legalization of recreational cannabis on the horizon in New York City, I doubt I’ll make a habit of taking the Delta-8. But for those without access to legal weed, this burgeoning cannabinoid is pretty close to the real thing.
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