Talk about a major blow to cannabidiol (CBD) retailers.
Delta-8-THC, a hot, new cannabis product that swept across New York in the past year, is now being banned under new state Health Department regulations.
The new regulations, which came out last week, prompted at least one Upstate New York retailer, Empire CBD, to close all six of its locations over the weekend. Delta-8-THC became their top selling product.
According to owner Yardley Burgess, all Empire CBD operations will move to Florida, but online CBD sales in New York will continue.
“There is no way I can keep it going in New York,” he said. “Delta 8 is what helped my business grow.”
Burgess has shops located in Syracuse, Baldwinsville, Marcellus, New Hartford, Watertown and Buffalo.
Delta-8-THC is made from hemp cannabis, not marijuana, but is said to give some users a sense of euphoria similar to a cannabis high. On April 1, New York legalized possession of small amounts of cannabis for recreational use by those 21 and older. The state is still working out the details on a legal retail sales program for cannabis, which could take up to a year to introduce.
In the past year, the state also established what are likely the nation’s strictest rules on CBD and other derivatives from hemp.
The updates to those rules unveiled last week included a provision declaring that cannabinoid and cannabinol products made through a chemical process called isomerization can no longer be sold in New York. The new rules specified the compounds of Delta-8-THC and Delta-10-THC.
According to a legal analysis by the Foley & Hoag Law Firm of Boston, the Health Department considers those to be illegal synthetic products. At least 12 other states have banned Delta-8-THC, including Colorado, one of the first states to legalize cannabis.
Gary Colmey, owner of Gary’s Indoor Garden Supply and CBD Center in Rome, said one of his suppliers stopped shipping Delta-8-THC products because of the new regulations.
“If I can get it, and they tell me it’s not synthetic, then I’ll keep it as long as I can,” Colmey said.
Delta-8-THC picked up momentum nationwide and in Central New York over the last few months. It can be found on the shelves at many local shops that sell CBD and other hemp products. It is sold in forms that can be smoked, vaped or ingested, like gummies.
