MJBizMag May-June 2021 - 12

HempNotebook | Kristen Nichols
A Healthier High?
Delta-8 THC, the latest trend in hemp cannabinoids, is another tool empowering patients
I
was the last person to appreciate the
hype around delta-8 THC.
I kept seeing news reports about
this " loophole " allowing intoxicating
THC candies and smokable products
to be sold in states where the real
stuff (delta-9 THC, or the marijuana
compound that gets users high) isn't
legal for most consumers.
It all looked to me like a lame
knockoff: cheap bulk candies sprayed
with synthetic who-knows-what to get
ahead of regulators and give local
investigative news teams a fresh topic
for alarm.
Surely, I thought, folks will stop using
this stuff when they can buy traditional
THC products legally.
Then I started talking with people
who use delta-8 THC. And I realized I
had fallen into the same trap that has
kept the entire cannabis industry from
reaching its full potential: not listening
to the people who use cannabis to find
relief.
What Users Say
One woman I talked with said she feels
relaxed and euphoric using delta-8
THC, but she doesn't get anxious like
she does with traditional marijuana.
As this source put it, delta-8
products never make her want to sit on
the couch, pull a hoodie over her head
and yank the strings shut, the way she
does when she feels too high.
I had to laugh. We've all been there.
Another person I interviewed said he
can't stand delta-9 THC but loves its
milder cousin. He said he just doesn't
like getting very high these days.
The stories made me pause and
reflect. I realized these people sounded
like the earliest CBD users. That's
because they're finding real value in
products that were scoffed at by law
enforcement and even some old-timers
in the cannabis industry.
Just like most CBD, delta-8 generally
comes from an extraction lab rather
than a drying room or trimming table.
But does that make it crap?
I realized I was guilty of the same
narrow thinking that annoys me in
critics who insist cannabis can't have
real therapeutic value.
I assumed that because some
consumers might use delta-8 THC as
a loophole to get high, that it was junk
that no health-minded person would
touch.
Delta-8 and Wellness
As we take a deeper look this month
at the health and wellness aspects of
cannabis, I'm happy to say my opinion
on delta-8 THC has changed. The minor
cannabinoid certainly has a place in
the spectrum of cannabis wellness
products.
Even better, my opinion doesn't
matter. Cannabis patients are
empowered like never before. Folks
have long been told by those who
Patients are increasingly empowered
to take control of their own health
and wellness-sometimes ignoring
conventional thinking in the process. "
12 Marijuana Business Magazine | May-June 2021
supposedly knew better that the plant
is poison and they need to look to
traditional medicine instead.
Cannabis users just shrug in
response.
That's what makes this industry
so exciting. Patients are increasingly
empowered to take control of their
own health and wellness-sometimes
ignoring conventional thinking in the
process.
Let's keep that in mind the next
time a novel, new cannabinoid starts
making headlines. Before we write off
a newfangled cannabis compound,
process or delivery method, let's listen
to the folks doing it to find out why. We
all just might learn something.
Kristen Nichols is the editor of Hemp
Industry Daily. You can reach her at
kristen.nichols@hempindustrydaily.com.
MJBizMag May-June 2021

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of MJBizMag May-June 2021
