A Texas judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking the state’s prohibition on Delta-8 THC, ruling that regulators may have acted improperly when they banned products containing the controversial cannabinoid. The ruling temporarily removes Delta-8 THC from Schedule I of the state’s list of controlled substances and allows retailers to resume selling goods containing the hemp-derived compound.
State district court Judge Jan Soifer issued the temporary injunction on Monday in response to a request from Hometown Hero, an Austin CBD dispensary that filed a legal action challenging the Delta-8 ban, ruling that regulators had failed to follow state requirements for issuing new rules. The Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) revealed last month that it had ruled that Delta-8 THC is a Schedule I substance under state law, despite the federal legalization of hemp and hemp products with the 2018 Farm Bill.
“DSHS posted the clarification below on our website in response to recent requests from hemp growers who said that there was confusion in the industry about what was allowed in consumable hemp products,” Lara Anton, a spokesperson for the agency told the Texas Tribune in October.
The health department wrote online on October 15 that consumable hemp products containing amounts of THC consistent with federal law are also legal under House Bill 1325, which was passed by state lawmakers in 2019 to regulate the Texas hemp industry. However, “All other forms of THC, including Delta-8 in any concentration and Delta-9 exceeding 0.3 percent, are considered Schedule I controlled substances,” the DSHS noted on its website.
Hometown Hero and other retailers challenged the ruling, arguing that retailers had not been properly notified of a hearing that led to the decision