Do Legitimate Delta-8 Products Exist?

With no regulatory oversight and limited laboratory testing, most products sold as delta-8-THC are not actually pure delta-8-THC said Christopher Hudalla, president and chief scientific officer of ProVerde Laboratories, an analytical testing firm with facilities in Massachusetts and Maine. 

Scientists at ProVerde have tested thousands of products labeled delta-8-THC, and according to Hudalla, not one would be considered a “legitimate delta-8-THC product.” 

“Consumers are being used as guinea pigs. To me, that’s horrific,” he said.

Fed Committee Suggests Grouping Cannabis Retailers, Tobacco Shops

The marijuana industry will “continue to grow,” a federal economic committee said in a series of recommendations, and that means steps need to be taken to ensure that it’s tracked more diligently under a system that enables analysts to follow markets and publish statistical data.

The suggestions include a proposal to move cannabis retailers out of a miscellaneous category and group them with tobacco, e-cigarette and smoking shops. 

One comment that was submitted by the Census Bureau itself suggested that marijuana retailers and vape shops could be split into two distinct categories. But it left open the possibility of combining cannabis shops and vape retailers together, as ECPC recommended.

RocketFuel Introduces Crypto Payment Solution for Cannabis Merchants 

RocketFuel (RocketFuelBlockchain.com), which provides one-click cryptocurrency payment options, has announced it will be making its services available for the cannabis industry.  

By integrating RocketFuel, businesses will be able to accept crypto payments from users with private wallets or crypto exchange accounts. The service will also cover online delivery orders if they fall under permissible local regulations. 

RocketFuel CEO Peter Jensen noted that the growth of cryptocurrencies has leveled the playing field for the cannabis industry and has “given the control of transactions to merchants who no longer have to depend on banks for handling their financial transactions.” 

 Legalization Gets a Push in the Senate

The top Democrat in the U.S. Senate thinks decriminalizing marijuana at the federal level is a change that’s “long overdue,” and he’s prioritizing that effort amid a growing number of states legalizing cannabis.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer unveiled a draft proposal for removing cannabis from the federal Controlled Substances Act, freeing states that have been legalizing cannabis for medical and recreational use from repercussions over the clashing laws.

“As more and more states legalize marijuana, it’s time for our federal cannabis law to catch up,” Schumer, of New York, said at a news conference.

The measure released by the senators is a draft, which Schumer said will be revised with feedback from the public.

Women Dominate New Cannabis Users

Plagued by pandemic stress, anxiety or boredom, women are among the fastest-growing groups of new cannabis users.

That’s according to Brightfield Group, a market research group focused on cannabis and CBD, which found women cannabis users, who make up 59% of new users, tend to be younger and with higher education and income levels than male marijuana users.

Women consumers use more product types than male peers, favoring marijuana gummies. They also choose more specific occasions of use, seek more effects from cannabis and use it to treat mental or physical health conditions more often than men.

FedEx Shipping Policies a “Disservice” to Vape Retailers

On July 12, more than four hundred vape companies urged FedEx to reverse a policy that prohibits the company from shipping and receiving vaping products. FedEx’s current rules do not allow the shipment of vaping products from business to business or directly to consumers.

“Without the option to order vaping products at wholesale or ship their products to consumers, vape stores have seen their shipping options skyrocket in cost or evaporate entirely,” reads the letter organized by the American Vaping Association.

“FedEx is doing a great disservice to American small businesses and consumers,” Greg Conley, the president of AVA, said in a press statement. “They are playing right into the hands of Big Tobacco.”

Michigan Begins Regulating Delta-8 

Delta-8 THC, a compound derived from CBD, will be regulated in Michigan beginning this fall.

That’s following legislation signed by Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The changes take effect October 11.

At least 14 states including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Mississippi, Montana, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and Utah have banned, or restricted, Delta-8 THC.

Under Michigan’s new legislation, the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency will oversee Delta-8 THC products by conducting testing.