According to Walt Wilkins, the Thirteenth Circuit Solicitor of South Carolina, “You can turn hemp into a THC product by adding an acid into a compound. Well, that creates the THC level increase to the point where it gives you that high, euphoric feeling. At the end of the day, if it gets you high, it’s illegal in South Carolina. Bottom line.” Say what?

The DEA recently issued a warning letter to the Georgia Board of Pharmacy (GBP). Given that Georgia is the only state that allows pharmacies to dispense medical marijuana, the DEA’s letter to the GBP is unprecedented. It also raises novel legal issues.

This article addresses the misguided view that intoxicating hemp cannabinoids are not properly part of the “hemp” industry, which is itself an artificially created category of the cannabis plant.

It has become a bit of a parlor game recently for lawyers to contact the DEA and request its position on the legal status of various compounds. Most recently, the DEA responded to a request for the control status of “magic mushroom spores” under the CSA.

Despite the rapidly growing acceptance of hemp as the path forward for cannabis policy, THCa hemp remains widely misunderstood. Possessing or distributing it are high-risk activities. In this article, I discuss the risks and strategies to reduce them.

“The first thing I usually say is that distributing THCa hemp is the riskiest thing you can do in the legal cannabis industry right now. For this reason, I spend most of my consulting time with clients discussing best practices and ways to mitigate the risks associated with THCa hemp.”

Corporate marijuana monopolists and their lobbying organizations, including ATACH, are desperately attempting to close off competition under the guise of protecting consumers. The real issue is not safety, but rather an attempt by a small group of corporate interests to control a valuable and emerging cannabis market that should belong to everyone.