TEXAS \u2014 Smokable hemp flower containing tetrahydrocannabinol-acid (THCA) is currently banned in the state of Texas, but smoke shops across the Lone Star State are finding other compounds to sell in its place.<\/p>\n
Molly McLaughlin from Green Goddess in San Marcos said tetrahydrocannabiphorol<\/a> (THCP) is the alternative flower option the store has been selling while THCA is off the shelves.<\/p>\n \u201cTHCP is more of like a concentrate,\u201d McLaughlin said. \u201cWe have a lot of it in the gummies; this is the first time we\u2019re doing it in the flower form.\u201d<\/p>\n The workaround comes after THCA was taken off the shelves again by a three-judge panel in the 15th Court of Appeals. The panel decided<\/a> on June 26 not to extend the injunction, making THCA illegal to sell. The compound has been bouncing back and forth in court, stemming from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) banning it through agency rules on March 31.<\/p>\n Attorneys for the Texas Hemp Business Council and other smoke shops filed a lawsuit against the state for imposing the rules in April and sought an injunction to allow the sale of THCA while they argued their case.<\/p>\n DSHS is currently enforcing all rules on consumable hemp, including new licensing fees.<\/p>\n THCP, however, was not specifically named in the DSHS rules, opening the door for shops to sell it in the meantime.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that they\u2019ve [DSHS] been kind of preoccupied with the THCA issue at this point,\u201d said Dr. Katharine Neill Harris. \u201cThere\u2019s still this very big, grey area where businesses are still kind of figuring out ways to sell some of these products.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr. Harris is a drug policy fellow at the Baker Institute at Rice University, and has written articles<\/a> explaining the confusing legal territory surrounding hemp and THC.<\/p>\n David Sergi, a cannabis-focused attorney based in San Marcos, also explains that THCP is \u201cfair game\u201d to sell.<\/p>\n \u201cMy argument is it shouldn\u2019t be included [in the rules] because it\u2019s not directly included,\u201d Sergi said.<\/p>\n One concern with having THCP on the shelves, however, is its potency.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s been studies that look at how it binds to the cannabinoid receptors in our brain that shows that it has about a 30 times higher affinity to binding to our cannabinoid receptors than delta-9 THC, which indicates it\u2019s more potent,\u201d said Harris.<\/p>\n She also explains that THCP is a naturally occurring compound in hemp flower, but in very small quantities. Increasing the amount of the compound to create intoxicating effects would mean chemically altering the plant, she says.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are risks with that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n \u201cFor one, we don\u2019t know the full effects of that compound, THCP. Second, we don\u2019t know what\u2019s going on with that manufacturing process, whether there\u2019s residual solvents or other byproducts that are still there,\u201d she said. \u201cYes, there are testing requirements in Texas, but we don\u2019t really have a robust regulation of that testing.\u201d<\/p>\n Both Harris and Sergi said the best way to regulate THC products is through legislation. The Texas Legislature has attempted to pass THC legislation, such as Senate Bill 3 last year, but it was ultimately vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott, resulting in the DSHS rules and, subsequently, the current legal back-and-forth over such rules.<\/p>\n One organization, however, says that all compounds should stay off the market.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s less focused specifically on the alphabet soup of products that are out there, and more on the educational piece around how easy it is for young people to gain access to these products,\u201d said Nicole Holt.<\/p>\n