Delta 8 and Utah State Law

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Delta 8 and Utah State Law

While cannabis reform is taking form in several states, many consumers say they can’t wait for legalization. They need something now, but also want to follow the law. Enter Delta 8. This newer cannabinoid available to the general public has some of the same effects that marijuana can create in consumers. How is this possible?

Delta 8 is a psychoactive cannabinoid that has a less potent and more controllable euphoric high than Delta 9. Delta 9 is the main psychoactive cannabinoid in marijuana that creates the high that consumers want. The reason Delta 8 is less potent and more controllable is because of a difference in molecular structures. Delta 8 has a double bond on the 8th carbon chain. Whereas Delta 9 has a double bond on the 9th carbon chain. 

This difference is also how Delta 8 is hemp and federally legal across the states. Delta 9 is on the Schedule I drug list by the DEA. If these cannabinoids are so similar, how are they treated so differently?

Federal Law

2018 saw the passage of the Farm Bill by the USDA. Within this bill, there were two separate definitions for hemp and marijuana, something that hadn’t been done since the 1970s. Cannabis as a whole, whether it had psychoactive properties or not, was considered dangerous to the general public. It became illegal through the Controlled Substances Act. Cannabis’s classification has remained there since. Until recently. With this seperation of definition between hemp and marijuana, the hemp industry was able to expand and offer different products to the general public.

The USDA defines hemp as:

“The term ‘hemp’ means the plant Cannabis sativa L. and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis.”

So, as long as products contain less than 0.3 percent of Delta 9, then it is legal to grow, produce, and sell. Delta 8 is structurally different from Delta 9. This means Delta 8 products have less than 0.3 percent of Delta 9 in them. They fall under the hemp definition. 

But just because hemp and Delta 8 are federally legal doesn’t mean that they are legal in each state. States create their own rules and regulations when it comes to hemp and Delta 8. It’s how some states have legalized medical cannabis and others haven’t. So, what does Utah state law say about hemp and Delta 8?

Utah State Law

Utah is part of the minority that still consider hemp products illegal and dangerous. Since Delta 8 is a hemp product, it is an illegal drug and controlled substance according to state law. The law specifically states:

“(AA) Tetrahydrocannabinols, naturally contained in a plant of the genus Cannabis (cannabis plant), as well as synthetic equivalents of the substances contained in the cannabis plant, or in the resinous extractives of Cannabis, sp. and/or synthetic substances, derivatives, and their isomers with similar chemical structure and pharmacological activity to those substances contained in the plant, such as the following: ∆1 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers ∆6 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and their optical isomers ∆3,4 cis or trans tetrahydrocannabinol, and its optical isomers, and since nomenclature of these substances is not internationally standardized, compounds of these structures, regardless of numerical designation of atomic positions covered.”

Because Delta 8 has THC properties, it is a controlled substance in Utah. But laws are always subject to change. Research the rules and laws in your state before purchasing and consuming e any Delta 8 products.

Make sure to check back for more cannabis and hemp related news.