As a cannabis attorney, I am often asked about the future of cannabis legalization. However, the truth is that cannabis has been legal for almost a decade now. In 2014, Congress first legalized “industrial hemp,” and in 2018, they expanded the definition of “hemp” to include all parts of the cannabis plant and its derivatives. This means that all cannabis products with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC are considered legal hemp, while anything above that concentration is still considered illegal marijuana.
This distinction may seem insignificant, but it has led to a growing market for consumer cannabis products, including those that can cause intoxication. For example, Total Wine now carries THC beverages and DoorDash delivers a variety of “hemp-derived” cannabis products, such as flower, vapes, and gummies, in many parts of the country. Additionally, many of my clients have direct-to-consumer websites where they sell legal hemp products, and one has even been dubbed the “Amazon of weed.”
But how is this possible when there is still so much talk about the need for “legalization” and the slow progress of rescheduling marijuana? The answer lies in the fact that all cannabis products come from the cannabis plant, and hemp is simply a legal term for cannabis with low levels of THC. This means that even though marijuana may still be illegal, the seeds and other parts of the plant that do not contain more than 0.3% THC are considered legal hemp.
In fact, the DEA has confirmed that no cannabis seeds contain more than 0.3% THC, as the residue on their surfaces from touching other parts of the plant can easily be washed off. This means that all cannabis seeds are considered legal, regardless of their potential to grow into plants with higher levels of THC.
So, while Congress may not have intended to create a market for intoxicating products when they legalized hemp, their expansive definition has paved the way for the wide array of hemp-derived THC products that are now available. And as long as these products meet the federal definition of hemp, they are considered legal and can be sold and consumed throughout the US.
