A Texas judge has allowed a wide-ranging THC ban to stay in effect after a hearing last week.
Delta-9 THC can generally be regarded as “regular THC.” When state and federal lawmakers legalized hemp, they defined it as cannabis with .3% delta-9 THC or less on a dry-weight basis. However, there are other forms of THC that were not originally regulated by state and federal hemp laws.
So, manufacturers and retailers began making and selling products with other forms of THC such as delta-8, which exploded in popularity over the last few years.
Now, those other forms of THC are banned in the state. A Travis County District Court judge recently ruled this ban can stay in effect as hemp businesses sue the state over it.
This is all the result of a Texas Supreme Court decision over the legality of delta-8 THC stemming from a lawsuit brought by hemp manufacturer Hometown Hero in 2021.
That year, the Texas Department of State Health Services said all forms of the substance besides .3% delta-9 THC on a dry weight basis were schedule I controlled substances.
Hometown Hero sued over the change. For a time, the ban on these other forms of THC was on pause while litigation was pending. The Texas Supreme Court ruled this year that the state could ban delta-8 and other forms of THC outside of delta-9.
The state implemented that ban on July 31, adding other forms of THC to the state’s controlled substances list. Possession of these alternative forms of THC is now a state felony.
See here for the previous update. The ban has been in effect since August 1, with a lot of sound and fury around it. This story doesn’t have much in the way of detail – this paywalled Statesman article appears to have more, but as noted it’s paywalled – but the bottom line is that the motion for a temporary restraining order was denied. There are still two federal lawsuits pending, though I have no idea where either of them are. I presume this ruling was in light of the previous 15th Court of Appeals ruling, and so perhaps there will be more to come in the state lawsuit, in the quest for an injunction against the law. As is often the case with litigation against Texas, which tends to involve multiple different cases, it’s hard to tell. But for now at least, nothing has changed.
I was just fine with Delta 8. Delta 9 is a different thing. Danny Goelb can go drink bad whiskey.