• MimicJar@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    Paul will cave and allow this to pass, this is what he does almost every time.

    That being said, I hope he doesn’t. If Congress wants to increase regulation for hemp derived THC (also called Delta 8 THC) then put together a separate bill and run it through the process.

    That won’t happen because Congress doesn’t actually pass bills anymore. They just lump everything together and slap “must pass” on it.

    Also this quote is fun,

    Manufacturers of beverage alcohol, one of the most highly regulated consumer products, urge the Senate to reject Sen. Paul’s attempts to allow hemp-derived THC products to be sold devoid of federal regulation and oversight across the country

    This type of THC has been available for several years with minimal regulation and the US has been just fine.


    Edit: Reading articles is difficult. At the time of the article posting (~2pm Monday) Paul hadn’t “caved”. At the time of my comment (Tuesday) he already had.

    The Sunday vote was cloture, aka we’re done debating.

    The Senate had already taken a major first step toward ending the shutdown Sunday night, voting to end debate on a motion to proceed to a House-passed continuing resolution. But procedural rules require 30 hours of “post-cloture” debate before senators can vote to proceed, followed by four more votes to pass the full funding package.

    The Monday vote happened around 8pm, since that was less than 30 hours later there must have been another vote to skip the 30 hour timer.

    Given the timing Paul, at best, delayed the vote by 6 hours.

    • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      There seems to be a lot of confusion in this thread about hemp derived THC and delta-8 THC. Delta-8 THC is an unregulated cannabinoid that can be made by converting CBD through a chemical process. But hemp also contains Delta-9 THC, which is the same thing that would come in the recreational or medical cannabis you’d get in a legal state. The limitation is that the products are only allowed to contain up to 0.3% Delta-9 THC by volume. The funny workaround here is that products like edibles and drinks can easily still contain a recreational dose of Delta-9 THC while staying well below 0.3% THC by volume. This has created a legal market for THC products and I’ve actually really enjoyed it, living in a state that still does not have any form of medical or recreational cannabis available.

      • MimicJar@lemmy.world
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        24 days ago

        So I’m less familiar with Delta 9 THC, but my understanding is that both Delta 8 THC and Delta 9 THC are able to be derived/extracted from hemp. If I’m understanding you correctly, it’s a different process for each, but the end result is still that we get one and/or the other.

        Additionally both of them have the same restrictions as you mentioned, being less then 0.3% THC by volume, which makes them excellent candidates for edibles and beverages.

        I think Delta 9 THC is closer to “traditional” THC, which matches with what you’ve said.

        Living in a state that does have recreational cannabis, I was surprised when I first saw Delta 8 THC products sold alongside alcoholic beverages.

        So while technically this law change won’t affect me much, I’ve certainly appreciated the destigmatization of “THC” at a federal level.

        • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          Delta-9 THC IS what people just called “THC” forever. It’s the very same compound that’s found in your recreational or medical cannabis products. It can be extracted from hemp naturally. The distinction in naming conventions is a more recent thing due to the prevalence of Delta-8 THC products.

  • bitwolf@sh.itjust.works
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    25 days ago

    Do they even read the bills the first time?

    It seems no one likes… Omnibus bills? Where they sneak a loss of citizen rights into a “must pass” bill like this.

    It happens every year and everyone hates them aside from lobbiers.

  • blattrules@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    Every democrat tried to hold out to keep health insurance rates down for millions of people and the republicans refused to negotiate. Now one asshole republican refuses to cooperate until some drugs are less easy to get and they’re going to accommodate him? Really shows what republicans think of 50% of the population.

    Edit: he’s trying to remove the language that would make it more difficult to sell hemp products. He’s still an asshole and the republicans still suck for ignoring half the country and entertaining one of their senators demands, but he’s right about this thing.

  • tomatolung@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) made the stakes clear Monday morning. There is only one “objector” to speeding up Senate consideration of the government funding package — Paul. The senator wants to strip a section from the bill that would prevent the sale of hemp-derived products like Delta-8 at gas stations, corner stores, or online without federal regulation.

    Paul defended his stance as part of his duty to Kentucky. “Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill. The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure. But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses,” he said in a statement posted on X. “Standing up for Kentucky jobs is part of my job,” he added.

  • Pacattack57@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    So once again the democrats not only sold out their constituents on healthcare and snap for literally a “promise of a vote” but they shit on them even more by allowing regulation on thc products? This will not only hurt a huge sector of the economy but it will open the door for police to target minorities for minor drug possession.

    This makes no fuckin sense.

  • Furbag@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    It’s an imaginary wrench, because it’s still going to pass.

    Boy, if only the spineless wimp dems didn’t cave, Trump would be in a fucking panic right now with the ATC situation. Instead, they delivered him a win right before he would have felt the most squeeze.

    • Guitarfun@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      Our only hope now is the release of the Epstein files. I hope they can prove trump was a client and his whole base turns on him. That’s all I fucking want for Christmas.

  • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    Adding this comment because it’s very clear to me that most people have a really poor understanding of hemp-derived THC products in general.

    Delta-8 THC is an unregulated cannabinoid that can be made by converting CBD through a chemical process. But hemp also contains Delta-9 THC, which is the same thing that would come in the recreational or medical cannabis you’d get in a legal state. The limitation is that the products are only allowed to contain up to 0.3% Delta-9 THC by volume. The funny workaround here is that products like edibles and drinks can easily still contain a recreational dose of Delta-9 THC while staying well below 0.3% THC by volume. This has created a legal market for THC products which this legislation is threatening.

    • LePoisson@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      I’ll go one further for you.

      Now there is THCa on the market that when you heat it - you know by smoking it or whatever your method of choice - literally turns into Delta-9 THC. Some light reading on it.

      So there is this really odd legal gray area now. I think it should be abundantly clear by now that marijuana should just be fucking legal, it’s readily available all over the place and it being illegal on the federal level is just dumb. It’s safer than alcohol and we have ads for that shit shoved in our faces everywhere we go.

    • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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      24 days ago

      Adding to this that in some markets the unregulated and untested delta-8 products have found their way into places that sell products to kids, like convenience stores whereas the regulated stuff is sold in adults only locations. These delta 8 products threaten the legal market in some places.

      This is of course avoiding the issues of improper extraction in the extract part of the market.

      They need to do this but in a separate bill that is part of federal legalization of cannabis.

    • Guitarfun@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      I just want to add this comment because it’s being discussed, but Delta 8 is much stronger than advertised. I used to smoke everyday and got into dabs for awhile. I stopped cold turkey for years and bought a delta 8 gummy on a whim online because everyone said if you have bad experiences with weed then Delta 8 is the way to go. Let me tell you that shit fucked me up badly.

      I was in for a relaxing night just chilling with my girl and watching some foreign horror movie. I had such a strong reaction to Delta 8 that I tried to just lay down and close my eyes. I could feel every word that was spoken in the movie in my chest and fingertips. It was one of the worst weed experiences I’ve ever had. It’s so much stronger than advertised and I only ate half the gummy too. I didn’t have to upload my ID or anything to get it. I’m 100% in favor of full legalization of basically everything and letting adults do whatever the fuck kind of drug they want to do so this isn’t a post to sway anyone against weed or Delta 8. I just wanted to share my experience with it.

        • Guitarfun@lemmy.world
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          23 days ago

          That’s what I’ve heard from others too. I’ve had mixed experiences with CBD tincture also. They all say there’s barely any THC in them, yet I do catch a buzz every once in awhile.

      • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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        23 days ago

        Oh yeah it’s not something I’d mess about with if you’re sensitive to cannabis in the first place, although it does have a lower potency than the traditional Delta-9-THC, it can still get you stoned. Especially if you have little to no THC tolerance. Experienced users tend not to get much out of it.

        • Guitarfun@lemmy.world
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          23 days ago

          That makes sense! Everytime I’ve heard about delta 8 I was told you get a small high without the anxiety and if you have issues with regular weed then this will be a much better experience. It was not anything like what had been advertised, but I guess it’s for people who already smoke weed and want to switch to something more mellow.

  • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    A deal to end the 41-day government shutdown is running into turbulence, thanks to a single Senate objection: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).

    Senate Republican and Democratic leaders say they need to resolve Paul’s objection to a provision in the government funding package before they can accelerate consideration of the bill. The provision would restrict the unregulated sale of intoxicating…hemp-derived products like Delta-8 at gas stations, corner stores, or online without federal regulation.

    I mean, do we really need this provision, right now? I’m not necessarily opposed to federal regulation of Delta-8 products, but can’t we address that at a later date? Let’s get the government open and worry about Delta-8 later.

    • Prox@lemmy.world
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      25 days ago

      Rand Paul agrees. He’s objecting because he doesn’t want the provision.

      The senator wants to strip a section from the bill that would prevent the sale of hemp-derived products like Delta-8 at gas stations, corner stores, or online without federal regulation.

      Paul defended his stance as part of his duty to Kentucky. “Just to be clear: I am not delaying this bill. The timing is already fixed under Senate procedure. But there is extraneous language in this package that has nothing to do with reopening the government and would harm Kentucky’s hemp farmers and small businesses,” he said in a statement posted on X. “Standing up for Kentucky jobs is part of my job,” he added.

    • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      This isn’t just about Delta-8 products. This will affect CBD products. This will affect legal hemp-derived Delta-9 THC products. This will have a major negative impact on the legal hemp industry as a whole. I don’t normally agree with Rand Paul on much, but I agree with him on this one. There’s a lot of hemp farming done in KY that this legislation threatens.

  • Alenalda@lemmy.world
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    25 days ago

    Paul is holding up? or is mconell holding up adding this unnecessary bullshit in the first place.

  • evilcultist@sh.itjust.works
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    24 days ago

    Another article I saw said that the rider adds such a strict requirement for THC content that 95% of the CBD sold in the U.S. would be made illegal.

  • BilboBargains@lemmy.world
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    23 days ago

    Hilarious how the alcohol industry gets in on the action. America is essentially a banana republic at this point, corruption and bigotry out the wazu.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      24 days ago

      it’s a different form of psychoactive compound, it’s a THC-like compound derived from Hemp. It’s not the exact same molecular structure so it’s technically unregulated.

      I have only heard mixed reviews and reactions to the stuff, so I avoid it like all untested, unknown head-shop and gas-station drugs barely skirting the law.

      edit: sources have told me that the bill’s wording would allow them to absolutely decimate the legal weed market because the wording allows them to ban the sales of anything that even resembles a THC molecule. (Nobody tell them about what your brain produces or they will ban heads.)

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          Because even in states where recreational cannabis is legal, it’s still highly restricted and taxed, that’s why there’s usually only limited numbers of dispensaries and they have to follow pretty strict city guidelines, and still cannot be purchased with credit cards or bank cards because it’s still a federally controlled substance even if the state legalizes it. Which is also why cannabis products can’t normally be shipped over state lines. Cannabis is still giant headache despite being highly profitable.

          Meanwhile, this shit basically doesn’t even exist in the eyes of the federal government, it can be sold anywhere and bought with any currency, it hasn’t even been studied enough to get scheduled and managed, and this is also partially due to the fact that every time one chemical compound gets scheduled, a couple more slight variants pop up. It’s almost like people really, really want to get high and the more you try to stop people from getting high, the worse the problem gets.

        • dgdft@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          Since no one has mentioned it yet:

          Delta-8 has a weaker binding affinity to cannabinoid receptors than delta-9, meaning it’s less potent per unit dose, but also harder to green out on.

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          You’re welcome, and I wanted to add that it’s unfolding right now that the bill also is worded in a way that it can mean the ban of all sales of anything even resembling a THC molecule, which would wreck the legal market in states that have it decriminalized, and it may be because the alcohol companies are threatened by rising legal weed sales. (McConnel introduced this anti-THC amendment and he’s known to have deep ties to alcohol lobbies, and alcohol sales in the US are flagging hard since decriminalization of weed.)

          • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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            24 days ago

            I work in the booze biz and the narrative that cannabis is killing our business is not that true. Most of it is price increases, the realization that “healthy consumption” of alcohol is bullshit, and a complete failure of our industry to market the products correctly.

            With wine and beer we should be reminding people that drinking with friends is literally one of the most common things in history. It’s a nice time even if it isn’t the most healthy choice. The important thing is to not make it habitual.

            • ameancow@lemmy.world
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              23 days ago

              https://news.gallup.com/poll/693362/drinking-rate-new-low-alcohol-concerns-surge.aspx

              I don’t know if anyone is saying it’s “killing” the business, but if your bosses are telling you that it hasn’t been harmed, they are lying to you. This is normal, even in a company you love, your bosses will lie to their employees about the state of the business, right up until the day they suddenly surprise you and say sales have crashed and they have to cut back their workforce, it’s as normal in business as business itself.

              And nobody is moralizing anything here, so I don’t get the defensiveness, if people rather do cannabis than alcohol, that’s a reflection of social trends towards a substance that is less harmful and less apt to cause hangovers and regrettable texts. I’m just talking about what others are reporting.

              • QuoVadisHomines@sh.itjust.works
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                23 days ago

                “if your bosses are telling you that it hasn’t been harmed, they are lying to you. This is normal, even in a company you love”

                Do you really think I need someone with zero experience in my industry to explain to me what is going on as if Im a child? The fact is most of the people drinking less aren’t doing so because cannabis is available as when surveyed most cite costs and health as their reasons.

                • ameancow@lemmy.world
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                  23 days ago

                  Setting aside your increasingly absurd defensiveness for a moment,

                  most cite costs and health as their reasons.

                  Yes, I just posted that as actual data. You are getting mad and losing the plot. I don’t care if you have a doctorate in alcohol, I am talking about the intersection of business and politics. Do you not think attacking alcohol alternatives wouldn’t be part of a broad strategy to increase alcohol sales? Do you know how lobbying and business at scale works? Don’t respond like a child and you won’t get talked to like a child.

                  I won’t see your reply anyway. Have a good one.

      • shiroininja@lemmy.world
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        24 days ago

        I’ve never had an issue with it. It’s helped my anxiety and if they take it from me, I’m gonna be right pissed. I can’t smoke weed since my 3 stints of Covid

        • ameancow@lemmy.world
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          24 days ago

          Like I said, it’s mixed. I’ve heard some people found it like a miracle drug that cured their anxiety, helps them sleep, fixed the cracks in their driveway and straightened their teeth. I’ve heard other stories of waking nightmares and seizure-like reactions. I take it all with a few shovels full of salt.

          Covid is a nightmare virus that changes your brain and body structure as well, no surprise hearing how it changes how your body reacts to different drugs.

  • bobaworld@lemmy.world
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    24 days ago

    I usually don’t see eye to eye with Rand Paul, but this bill will effectively destroy the legal hemp and CBD industries in America, as well as the legal THC market. I’m with him on this one. I am very surprised there’s nobody else fighting for it.