Yo, peep this. Legalizing hemp had a major impact on how we view cannabis, mainly ’cause it defined what the hell hemp really is. See, even though hemp and cannabis come from the same plant family, the 2018 Farm Bill came through with a strict rule to tell ’em apart. They said if a plant has less than 0.3% THC, then it’s officially hemp and legal. But if it’s got more than that, it’s straight up illegal, fam.
Cannabis.net was on top of this game from way back in August 2022 with an article called “Under 0.3% THC by Net Weight Just Created the Biggest Loophole in Drug Law History.” They knew what was up with the 2018 Farm Bill, no doubt.
Now, THC is just one of the many chemicals in weed. But when the Farm Bill started talkin’ about THC content, it got people real interested in another chemical called CBD. That’s short for cannabidiol, and it don’t get you high like THC does. CBD became a big deal, man. You could find it in all kinds of stuff – they even put that stuff in jeans and had commercials on the radio going crazy like Monster Truck rallies.
The thing is, even though CBD might have some medical benefits without messin’ you up, they started throwing it into all sorts of products that ain’t exactly healthy for you. This dude named Raphael Mechoulam, who’s an expert on this stuff, talked about how CBD works better when it’s hangin’ out with all the other chemicals in weed. It’s like they all work together to make it more effective.
But here’s the tricky part – there ain’t no proper regulations for CBD. That means a product that says it’s got 10 mg of CBD might not have any CBD at all. A study in 2022 found that almost half of the CBD products they tested had the wrong labels. We need better rules and quality control for this CBD market, yo.
Alright, check this out. Remember how the Farm Bill said weed is hemp if it’s got less than 0.03% THC? Well, that opened the door for some alternative cannabinoids to come through. One of ’em is called delta-8 THC. Now, you won’t find much delta-8 in the natural plant, but they can make it from CBD. They do some chemical stuff to turn CBD into delta-8 THC.
The New York Times reported a crazy increase in Google searches for delta-8 THC – like an 850% increase, man. But here’s the thing, there ain’t a whole lot of research on delta-8 yet. Back in 1973, they did a study and found out that it’s about two-thirds as strong as regular THC and has similar effects.
Oh, and let’s not forget about synthetic cannabinoids. These are made in a lab and they ain’t naturally occurring in weed. There’s this one called THC-O that got popular ’cause of the Farm Bill too. But people are worried about these synthetics ’cause they might have some serious health risks. The California Cannabis Industry Association even put out a white paper talkin’ about the dangers of these synthetic cannabinoids.
So, now we gotta think about THCA too. That’s the stuff that comes before THC, and it don’t get you high until it’s heated up. Seeds don’t have any delta-9 THC, so they’re all good according to the hemp laws. And when you look at cannabis flowers, they got THCA instead of regular THC. You gotta heat ’em up to convert that THCA into THC and feel the buzz. But some people are sellin’ flowers labeled as THCA, and that’s where things get tricky. ‘Cause technically, that’s still cannabis, man.
They’re talkin’ about changing the definition of hemp in the U.S., and if they don’t do it right, it could mean that all weed is legal. That would be a big deal, bro.
So, there you have it. The hemp game changed the way we see cannabis, no doubt. But there’s still a lot of gray areas and loopholes in the laws. We need better regulations and more research to really understand what’s goin’ on with all these different cannabinoids. It’s a wild world out there, my friends. Stay tuned for more updates on the CBD and THC game.