Alcohol Beverages and Cannabis

The cannabis plant contains several cannabinoids, with non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) and psychoactive delta-9 THC among the most well-known. A cannabis plant with levels of delta-9 THC at or below 0.3 percent is considered hemp under federal and state law. The federal Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 legalized hemp and its derivatives, but synthetic THC remains an illegal substance. Another cannabinoid, delta-8 THC, has recently gained commercial popularity, in part because this potentially lawful psychoactive product may be converted from hemp-derived CBD. Although a substance meeting the definition of “hemp” is legal for purposes of state and federal controlled substances laws, uncertainty surrounds whether delta-8 THC, when converted from hemp-derived CBD, falls within the definition of hemp or instead constitutes synthetic THC.

Since passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014, states have been authorized to operate research-based pilot programs relating to hemp production. On December 20, 2018, President Trump signed the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, which expanded the manner in which states and tribes may authorize and regulate hemp production and made other significant changes that generally transitioned hemp from a research-based product to an agricultural commodity under federal law.