Hillsborough County commissioners to look into regulating Delta 8 products

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - In front of the Hillsborough County Commission, Ellen Snelling, a board member of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance laid out her fears surrounding Delta 8 THC. It's a fairly new and legal alternative to medical marijuana. 

"Delta 8, the latest drug trend that our children and grandchildren know about, but parents and grandparents have been kept in the dark," she said. 

Delta 8 is said to be about two thirds as potent as cannabis, and it's often sold in gas stations and smoke shops.  It's legal thanks to a loophole created in the 2018 Federal farm bill.

Snelling said Delta 8 products are sometimes packaged to entice children. She said kids locally, have already gotten sick by mistakenly ingesting it. 

"After testing, she was shocked to find out he had marijuana poisoning, the clerk had made a mistake, the clerk gave him the THC enhanced cake pop, with it had a 100mg of Delta 8 THC," she said.  "There's no age limit on these, it is not 21 and up.  It is the wild west," she said. 

That in part has enticed commissioners to agree to look into potentially regulating Delta 8 products in Hillsborough County. That could include things like the way it is packaged, age limits, and where the products can be displayed in a store. A bill that would've regulated Delta 8 on the state level failed during this year's legislative session. 

"We spend a lot of time trying to do this responsibly, and it looks bad on us when gas stations aren’t," said Carlos Hermida.  

Hermida owns the Chillum Glass Gallery and Hemp Dispensary in Ybor City. It specializes in all kinds of legal THC including Delta 8. The store is only open to those 21 and up. 

Hermida said he welcomes regulation but not over-regulation. 

"I think what could potentially happen with this council meeting is they prohibit Delta 8 and then all of a sudden there's a new black market in Hillsborough County," he said. 

Commissioner Stacy White's office released this statement: 

"My goal is not to ban delta-8. My goal is to regulate products that can be confused for non-medicated substances, such as candy. This will reduce the likelihood of accidental ingestion of delta-8 and reduce the likelihood of children being attracted to the products. Basically, I want to protect the safety of our citizens, especially children."