Navigating the "Gray Zone" of Marijuana Alternatives in Wisconsin

Tuesday, June 18th, 2024 -- 9:00 AM

(Richelle Wilscon, Wisconsin Public Radio) -CBD. THC-O. Delta-8. When it comes to marijuana alternatives available in Wisconsin, there’s a veritable alphabet soup of options.

But, according to Richelle Wilscon with Wisconsin Public Radio, because marijuana itself is still illegal in the state, these products live in something of a regulatory “gray zone,” according to Lucas Richert.

“You almost need a Ph.D. in agriculture and maybe also a law degree to understand what’s happening here,” he joked in an interview with WPR’s “Wisconsin Today.”

Richert is a professor in the School of Pharmacy at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he researches the history of legal and illegal drugs, including cannabis.

He has been keeping a close eye on the latest developments as delta-8 and similar products have quickly grown into a multibillion-dollar industry. If you’re wondering how these products are legal and why they seemed to appear overnight, it goes a little something like this:

The farm bill of 2018 legalized the production of hemp, a cannabis plant that contains no more than 0.3 percent delta-9 THC. Delta-9 THC is the chemical that gives marijuana its intoxicating effect.

After the farm bill was passed, producers and business owners in Wisconsin quickly began to develop newly legal hemp-derived cannabis products like delta-8, which is said to have a “milder” effect than delta-9 THC.

“(Now you’ve) got all these hemp products that are federally legal, and they’re available all across the state of Wisconsin for all sorts of things,” Richert said. “You’ve got oils and tinctures, you’ve got soft gels, you’ve got edibles, you’ve got topicals (and) vape products, you’ve got personal care products. You can go into shops that are advertising ‘legal cannabis’ and get whatever you are desiring because of this hemp ‘gray zone.’”

While hemp-based alternatives like delta-8 are welcomed by some consumers in Wisconsin, it can be difficult to know exactly what to expect from these products in terms of potency and safety.

Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.