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Texas hemp industry celebrates signals coming from DEA over delta-8

Texas hemp shop owners are celebrating recent signals from the Drug Enforcement Administration that delta-8 is not a controlled substance at this time.

The federal agency is telling state regulators that only products containing more than 0.3% delta-9 are considered controlled.

Carla Harrold operates Carla's Hempire on FM 1774 in the East Texas town of Magnolia. She called those signals from the DEA good news for the industry.

"I believe it's great. I believe it's going to help us all survive out there," Harrold said. "It's one of the things that helps me survive, even though it's not my main source. I do think it's going to help other people survive like me who have other things to sell."

She said delta-8 makes up only a small part of her sales, but customers who do use it tout the pain relief it brings.

She said the signals coming from the DEA also takes away another kind of worry by hemp shop owners.

"It will allow us to not to be afraid to put our product back on our shelf without fear of being arrested," she said.

Harrold said she sells many regular CBD products, including edibles, water soluables, topicals, smokables, and CBD dog treats.

Copyright 2021 Texas Public Radio. To see more, visit Texas Public Radio.

Brian Kirkpatrick has been a journalist in Texas most of his life, covering San Antonio news since 1993, including the deadly October 1998 flooding, the arrival of the Toyota plant in 2003, and the base closure and realignments in 2005.