A few bills under consideration in WA this legislative session deal with delta-8-THC, described as THC-Lite in its’ intoxicating effects. It is extracted from CBD taken from federally-legal hemp plants, and is not currently regulated by any state, legal or not. Anyone can buy it from the internet to gas stations anywhere. No special taxes, no showing id. It comes in various forms, from vapes to gummies, but since it isn’t found in the actual plant (yet), there is no flower.
Everyone will agree that the marijuana legalization laws address delta-9-THC from the marijuana plant. Hence, it can be said all of the existing laws and rules for cannabis don’t apply to delta-8.
The Liquor and Cannabis Board have proposed a law that gives them authority to regulate such products because, well, just because. Hemp farmers say that I-502, which legalized pot in WA, never meant what the LCB wants to do, because back then there was idea of CBD and extractions and such modern inventions. Another point of view is that we don’t have definitions of that it is we’re talking about.
Now, imagine trying the explain the difference between an “impairing cannabinoid” from a “non-impairing cannabinoid” to a legislative representative who has no idea what pot is. Or a natural extract from a synthetic process.
This question exists in all 50 states, whether legal or illegal.
If WA were to somehow regulate delta-8, it would be unique in that the state was regulating a federally-legal product. If they don’t succeed, the delta-8 market will proliferate, potentially impacting the legal marijuana market and it’s tax revenues.
My prediction? Nothing gets done this session, a year of talking takes place and the delta-8 market explodes.