Delta-8 is a cannabis compound that has become popular because of its similarity to the main compound in cannabis that gets you high, causing euphoria, happiness, sedation, symptom relief, and much more.

Delta-8 is a cannabis compound that has become popular because of its similarity to the main compound in cannabis that gets you high, causing euphoria, happiness, sedation, symptom relief, and much more.

The similarities between the two cannabinoids lie in their chemical structures and their names. Scientific name is delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or just delta-9. Delta-8 is short for delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol, or delta-8. Delta-8 can cause effects similar to regular delta-9 -but they will be much less potent.

Delta-8 and delta-9 are both forms of tetrahydrocannabinol. In common usage, when people refer to tetrahydrocannabinol they are talking about delta-9. 

Currently, the legality of delta-8 is hazy. It can be extracted from either hemp or cannabis. Because of the 2018 farm bill, hemp can be legally grown and used for extractions all over the United States, making delta-8 legal in states where delta-9 is illegal—sometimes.

Nearly all delta-8 on the market today is manufactured from hemp-derived CBD, which makes it, in theory at least, part of a federally legal chain of origin.

People in states where tetrahydrocannabinol is illegal crave cannabis products and are now looking to delta-8 because it may be legal in their state, even though it is less potent than regular tetrahydrocannabinol. Many extractors are ramping up delta-8 production to meet this new demand and shipping it all over the US.