A judge declared Delta-8 THC derived from hemp to be legal in the Bluegrass State, although cannabis is not.
On October 13, 2021 Mike Kimzey was opening his smoke shop as usual for the past twenty years on Preston Highway in Louisville, Kentucky. What seemed like a regular day for Kimzey was suddenly changed at 11 a.m. when Bullitt County Sheriff entered his doors with a search warrant under the presumption of illegally selling pot.
“It felt like they were raiding a kingpin drug dealer,” said Kimzey, the long time owner of Discount Smokes. Upon presenting him the warrant, the sheriff also told him that undercover agents had conducted multiple controlled purchases at his store and had smelled marijuana. Off of the smell alone, officers speculated to uncover at least 10 lbs of cannabis. “It was a deplorable situation. They read us our rights and asked where the weed was.”
The issue with Kimzey’s arrest is the fact that Discount Smokes doesn’t push pot. In the state of Kentucky, along with a quarter of the country, marijuana is illegal and prohibited from possession, consumption, or distribution within the state. That being said, Kentucky does have a burgeoning industrial hemp market which started with a pilot program in 2014, and has only grown as a result of the 2018 Farm Bill.
Kimzey’s store, however, does sell hemp-derived Delta-8 THC in the form of cigarettes, cigars, edibles, gummies, and vaporizers. If you don’t already know, delta 8 is another form of THC that produces a “milder high,” and can be created from hemp, making it federally legal as long as it doesn’t contain the marijuana-derived delta-9 THC.
When the officers arrived at Discount Smokes, the sheriff told Kimzey’s customers to leave, while another officer stood watch outside, letting other customers know about the ongoing raid. After the law enforcers got what they came for, the Bullitt County Sheriff Department had taken $619 in cash, and $3,000 worth of Delta-8 products. Additionally, Kimzey was given a felony charge for possessing with intent to distribute a controlled substance as well as a misdemeanor related to drug paraphernalia (tobacco pipes being suspected for marijuana use).
Fortunately for Kimzey, his charges were eventually dropped, along with 14 other stores that were also raided from the same department. The surge in sting operations was due to the state’s attempt at taking out delta 8 distributors.
Kentucky’s War Against Hemp
Another store owner, Dee Dee Taylor of 502 Hemp and member of the Kentucky Hemp Association, claims the sheriff’s act was simply “a war against hemp.” This was on hemp is in reference to April 19, 2021, when Ryan Quarles, the commissioner of the Kentucky Agriculture Department had sent letters out to the state’s hemp license holders. In the letters, Quarles suggested that delta-8 THC be considered a schedule I controlled substance banned by federal and state law, and threatened to revoke any hemp licenses unwilling to comply along with conducting legal prosecution to individual business owners. The Kentucky State Police as well as other departments in other Kentucky counties were then able to utilize the letter to easily obtain search warrants in order to carry out raids across the state.
Court Rules In Favor of Delta 8 THC
Quarles and the Kentucky State Police couldn’t have been more wrong. On the federal level, the Drug Enforcement Administraiton (DEA) has already deemed hemp-derived Delta-8 THC as legal. Recently, the the final nail in the coffin was hammered in a case filed by the Kentucky Hemp Association when a judge ruled against the state’s department of agriculture and police, stating the police’s actions as “subjecting citizens to raids and prosecution for what is not plainly prohibited by law – but rather has been plainly authorized and exempted by law passed by the legislative body according to the Constitution.”
On August 10th, the state of Kentucky had admitted defeat to delta 8. Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarales released a statement retracting his threats against hemp license holders for selling hemp-derived Delta 8 THC.
Delta 8 Legislation in Other States
Other states are also having their battle with delta 8. Texas for instance introduced a bill last summer that would have banned Delta-8 THC, but was dismissed when brought up to the House and Senate. Over a dozen states have regulated delta 8, including Colorado, Oregon, New York, and Washington. Until federal regulation intervenes for hemp-derived cannabinoids, more states will be putting together their own form of legislation for hemp.
“The only reason Delta-8 exists at all is because it’s a product of prohibition,” says Jim Higdon, co-founder of Cornbread Hemp in Kentucky. “It exists because there’s a demand for Delta-9 THC, which is still restricted because of bullshit state and federal laws. It is bathtub gin of the 2020s.”
As controversy rises over delta 8 products in Kentucky, retailers are raking in the profits from its popularity. As marijuana remains illegal in Kentucky, the media coverage over delta 8 has given consumers greater awareness of a delta 9 alternative. The drive for cannabis legalization may be nearing the light at the end of its tunnel, as 59% of Kentuckians say that they support legalization, according to data collected from July 2019 to January 2021 by the Democracy Fund and UCLA Nationscape. As for its politicians, a majority of both democrat and republican officials agree upon cannabis legalization. It is only a matter of time before Kentucky will be fully cannabis compliant.
