Delta-8 THC, mildly less potent than marijuana’s delta-9, is legal in Ky., may face further regulation – Harlan EnterprisePosted by MMP News AuthorOn February 10, 2023

“While politicians debate whether to legalize medical marijuana in Kentucky, a lesser-known product that gets people similarly high is flourishing in the state. And it’s already legal,” reports Morgan Watkins of the Courier-Journal.

Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, which is moderately less potent but “almost identical to the delta-9 THC in marijuana that drives the mental high” can be sold to anyone in Kentucky, “theoretically even children, at the seller’s discretion,” Watkins reports.That’s due to a law passed by Congress, and the unwritten law of unintended consequences.

“The delta-8 business bloomed from an unforeseen loophole thanks to a law federally legalizing hemp, a cannabis plant with very little delta-9 THC,” which U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell got passed to help farmers raise hemp, Watkins writes. “Delta-8 can be indirectly derived from hemp, and the way the 2018 law was written opened the door for businesses to make and sell it.”

The door opened wider last year, after a circuit judge in Boone County “ruled delta-8 is allowed…