Delta-8 THC isn’t legal even if derived from hemp that meets federal THC limits, according to a nonbinding opinion from South Carolina’s attorney general.
Attorney General Alan Wilson wrote that delta-8 THC is an isomer of the better-known delta-9 THC that isn’t protected under state and federal hemp laws. He told state law enforcement that “any and all” THC isomers beyond trace amounts naturally occurring in a hemp plant are illegal.
Wilson argued in the Oct. 4 letter to South Carolina law enforcement that hemp laws authorize only delta-9 THC up to 0.3%.
“The lawfulness of hemp and hemp products all hinge on the ‘federally defined THC level for hemp,'” which includes only delta-9 THC, not any isomers. He added that South Carolina lawmakers intended the THC exception for hemp to be “narrow.”
Law 360 first reported Wilson’s opinion.
