I'd be interested to know if the new market for "full spectrum hemp" in non-decriminalized states is also affecting the legal growers. Here in NC, you can go into stores all over the state and buy thc edibles for a very reasonable price. And I'm not even talking about the delta-8 stuff that was popular for a while (though that's around too). Basically a farm bill loophole has made it so that processing low-thc hemp and selling products made from that is very profitable, and it doesn't have the same tax burden of legal weed. Even real flower is available through a different loophole, and you can go to dab bars in cities like Nashville and buy concentrate from that loophole bud. I could see people who would otherwise travel across state lines for reputable product preferring the loophole stuff due to convenience and price.
I was in NC recently and totally baffled by the selection and availability of different cannabis products. I'm still not sure what I was buying/smoking half the time, but I mostly enjoyed it.
Here in NY, we have a different kind of "gray market" that has been filling the vacuum created by a lack of legally sanctioned stores. It started as weed vans all over the city (selling products of questionable quality) and then it was bodegas and smoke shops selling flowers and prerolls on every street corner. Now we have full-blown recreational shops with bright lights and branded packaging selling nothing but weed 24/7, and they are completely illegal.
The first legal stores finally opened up a few days ago.
How is cannabis flower legal through a loophole? Someone here in TX said they have the real thing but I was skeptical, since some D8/CBD places are trying to sell smokable hemp.
That said, I must say Delta 8 and 11-Hydroxy-THC are two very different but enjoyable and legal substances in Texas. 6mg of D8 is just enough to take the edge off a day, and a full one will just totally chill you out for movies. Then THCjd, HHC or 11 Hydroxy THC will level you if that's what you want.
Lookup "high THCA hemp" for the loophole stuff (the subreddit "cultofthefranklin" is also dedicated to it). Basically THCA occurs naturally and converts directly to THC when heated (smoked or vaped), so if you test the bud before it converts, it passes because it's not technically THC per the federal farm bill. Some state bills are different though and do count THCA towards total THC.
