Federal Agency Designates Delta-8 THC A Controlled Substance

Florida fads escalate quickly; something rare, or even completely unknown, appears on the scene and then quickly becomes ubiquitous.  For example, melaleuca trees, green iguanas, the nutria, and the Cuban anole are among the introduced species that have proliferated quickly in Florida.  The Nile monitor lizard, with its insatiable appetite for alligator eggs, even increased its population so quickly that, for a while, it was threatening to return the American alligator to the endangered species list.  It isn’t just the flora and fauna.  Florida’s pill mills attracted drug seekers from all across the country until the authorities cracked down, and cosmetic surgery clinics started advertising on television in Florida before they reached the airwaves of other states.  The sober living homes, way stations on the Florida shuffle, remain a common sight.  Weed is not new in Florida, but weed-like products that flaunt their ambiguously legal status are.  Delta-8 has made a splash in Florida, but the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has recently categorized it as a controlled substance at the federal level.  If you are facing criminal charges that stem from Florida’s frequently changing cannabis laws, contact a Tampa drug crime lawyer.

The Funhouse of Florida Cannabis Laws

You wouldn’t know it from the thick cloud of musky-scented smoke that hangs in the air of so many outdoor areas in Florida, but cannabis is illegal in Florida at the state level.  You can legally possess small quantities of marijuana if you have a medical cannabis card, and some cities and counties have decriminalized cannabis possession at the local level.  Meanwhile, there are gaping loopholes surrounding cannabis-derived products that are not technically weed.  Cannabidiol (CBD) is the latest health fad; Floridians gobble up CBD gummies these days the way they used to gobble up fondue and carrot cake in the disco era.  Delta-8 THC is another legally ambiguous substance.  It acts just like the THC in weed, but it is chemically different enough to be in its own legal category.

Don’t Panic Yet, Delta-8 Aficionados

In February 2023, the DEA classified delta-8 THC as a controlled substance at the federal level.  What that means for Florida’s delta-8 boom is anyone’s guess.  Most likely, the federal recategorization of delta-8 will not put a stop to the current state of affairs, where you can buy delta-8 at gas stations, CBD shops, and hookah bars.  Remember that, at the federal level, cannabis is still a Schedule I controlled substance, more illegal than fentanyl.  This hasn’t stopped Florida and other states from adopting 420-friendly state laws.  Perhaps this is what your teachers in civics class meant when they said that most of the laws that affect your daily life are state laws.

Contact Tampa Criminal Defense Attorney Bryant Scriven

A criminal defense lawyer can help you deal with criminal charges, even if they are for cannabis products which are legal in some circumstances or which might as well be legal.  Contact Scriven Law in Tampa, Florida to schedule a consultation.

Sources:

marijuanamoment.net/dea-classifies-novel-cannabinoids-delta-8-and-9-thco-as-controlled-substances-even-when-synthesized-from-legal-hemp/

discovermagazine.com/lifestyle/is-delta-8-legal-in-florida-explaining-the-state-law