Hemp companies operate under the assumption that hemp was made legal in 2018. Of course, this is true, and technically hemp should receive far less scrutiny than it does.  The stark reality for hemp operators though, is that hemp is cannabis, and the leading segment for hemp has been cannabinoids.  

Among the many cannabinoids available to consumers, intoxicating ∆8-THC has been the most popular by far, somewhat quietly eating through inventories of hemp derivatives like crude and isolate.  The political implications of ∆8 are, at the least, greater scrutiny.  The isomer of CBD is attracting law enforcement’s attention to the brick-and-mortar retailers that are successfully selling ∆8 products alongside CBD extracts, hemp flower, and kratom in many cases.  Some of the flower is also infused with ∆8.  

This generates ample fodder for law enforcement to pursue these shops, where just the hemp flower alone is frequently not…