Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8-THC, Δ8-THC) is a psychoactive cannabinoid found in the Cannabis plant. It is an isomer of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-9-THC, Δ9-THC), the compound commonly known as THC. ∆8-THC has antiemetic, anxiolytic, orexigenic, analgesic, and neuroprotective properties.
Since the 2018 United States farm bill was signed into law in December 2018, ∆8-THC products partially synthesized from compliant sources (including industrial hemp and derivative cannabidiol extracts) have been sold by a range of digital vendors and a more limited array of brick and mortar retailers, including head shops. Ranging from bulk quantities of unrefined distillate to prepared edibles and atomizer cartridges suffused with cannabis-derived terpenes, they are usually marketed as federally legal alternatives to their ∆9-THC counterparts. However, the legal status of ∆8-THC at the federal level is in question with some believing that the Oct. 2020 DEA IFR addressing “synthetics” applied to Delta-8 and other hemp derivatives allowed by the Farm Bill.
Beginning in late 2020, ∆8-THC began to attract the attention of many cannabis consumers throughout the United States. Thought of as an alternative to traditional cannabis use, especially in areas where marijuana is illegal, the news of ∆8-THC spread quickly via news agencies, cannabis publications, blogs, and podcasts which attracted a storm of social media attention.
As of early 2021, “Delta-8″/∆8-THC is one of the fastest growing segments of products derived from hemp.