Texas Vape Shops Sue Over State’s Delta-8 THC Ban

Texas recently released an updated guideline making Delta-8 THC products illegal in the state. Delta-8 THC products now are listed as a Schedule I controlled substances, and state health officials noted that the products have been banned for months now.

The move prompted several Texas CBD and vape shops owners to file for temporary restraining orders regarding the announcement. Those who filed the temporary restraining orders prayed it to be granted against the state. According to The Dallas Morning News, Ashley Flood, the owner of a CBD American Shaman franchise, said that she and other owners and consumers were not informed of the move to update the state’s website regarding the use and selling of marijuana-related products.

The Dallas Morning News quoted Flood saying, “We didn’t find out from the state, we didn’t find out from law enforcement, we didn’t find out via letter, email — nothing. We found out from one of our suppliers.” Flood added that she purchased $20,000 word of Delta-8 products for her store, accounting for 50 to 60 percent of her profit. If they are illegal, her business will be badly hit.

What is interesting about the DSHS’ statement regarding Delta-8 is that it follows a popular trend among states regarding Delta-8: state agency prohibition against certain cannabinoids that appear damning, despite the fact they might not carry the force of law, according to renowned cannabis attorney Rod Kight.

“Other states across the country, including Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Vermont, to name a few, have, through various agencies, enacted similar prohibitions. However, while other states across the country are attempting to chill the fervor of Delta-8 via agency or administrative actions, what makes Texas’ prohibition unique is that it appears to be the result of deliberate action taken over a period of time to amend Texas’ list of controlled substances to be different than the federal list of controlled substances,” Kight said. “Importantly, this agency amendment followed the Texas legislature’s inability to pass a bill that would have banned Delta-8 THC during its most recent legislative session.” 

The Dallas Morning News said that the 2018 Farm Bill might be the one confusing sellers and consumers regarding Delta-8 products. The bill legalized Delta-8 products at the federal level, but it allows individual states to develop more stringent laws regarding the selling and consumption of such.

Further, many believe the Delta-8 products remain legal because, under the law that Gov. Greg Abbott signed in 2019, hemp products with less than 0.3 percent tetrahydrocannabinol are legal.