Hemp??

Hemp cannabis products are legal due to the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp and its derivatives, provided they contain less than 0.3% delta-9 THC (just a note that it was Mitch McConnell who led this for Kentucky confirming once again politicians are talking out of both sides of their mouth). There are countless companies that are leaning heavily into hemp products that are categorized at Delta 8 because they can be purchased online, or at any store, and shipped across state lines. At Gotham, like all dispensaries in NYS, the products can only come from NYS farmers.
The majority of Long Island voted against having dispensaries in their towns, although they have plenty of liquor stores. Once again, the false narrative about cannabis has won out. Yet what is being sold in these towns, such as East Hampton, are Delta 8 products that carry 10mg of THC, just like the gummies sold at Gotham, made from a cannabis farm.
There is a store fully stocked with these products, including beer, and munchy products like potato chips. These Delta 8 and 9 products are also being sold at the pharmacy. A poll recently showed that eight in ten marijuana consumers use cannabis as a replacement for prescription medicine. How many of them are using hemp products that are not regulated vs the products that are highly regulated in the Gotham stores and other dispensaries because they are sitting on the pharmacy counter to be purchased last minute like the candy aisle at the grocery store?
A study in Japan challenged the “gateway drug” theory on cannabis. A survey among 3900 cannabis consumers moving to other illegal drugs was 2% aka low probabilities of progression towards drug use. Finally, a study that anyone who uses cannabis knows the answer to. Sure, there will always be outliers, but that is around anything.
The need to federally regulate cannabis is more important than ever as the hemp products take over our shelves with products that are not regulated, but do the same thing that cannabis does. There are no tax benefits for each state, because these products are not considered schedule 1 drugs. No regulation, and inconsistency at ever state level, is concerning. Each state is doing their own thing with no FDA oversight of Delta 8 products.
As someone in the business, I wouldn’t touch any of those products with a ten foot pole. What will it take for regulators to wake up?