News Article about Emerald Forest CBD Dispensary

Source: https://ktxs.com/news/local/texans-breath-sigh-of-relief-after-law-to-outlaw-legal-thc-delta-8-dies-at-capitol

 

SAN ANTONIO - Delta 8 users hit the jackpot after a bill pushing to outlaw the cannabis product died in the legislature.

We spoke with a Delta 8 user who says her greatest fear was having her pain treatment taken away after having fought covid.

"A lot of people have started switching from CBD to Delta eight," Emerald Forest owner Romish Abdulrashid said.

Delta 8 is a nontraditional form of marijuana being sold at CBD dispensaries like Emerald Forest.

"Each one of these gummies is 30 mg of delta 8 which is very strong," Abdulrashid said as he showed us around the shop.

Abdulrashid, an owner of two dispensaries, says not many people know it is legal since it is a form of THC.

"It's a psychoactive cannabinoid that comes from hemp," Abdulrashid said.

Being blunt - Romish says Delta 8 can legally get you high.

"Without the paranoia, anxiety that usually comes along with marijuana," Abdulrashid said.

Compared to Delta 9 -- Delta 8 is derived from hemp and low in THC, which is legal to grow in Texas after a 2018 Farm Bill was passed.

For the last eight months, the young entrepreneur has been working with a farm in Bulverde to create products he says are helping many in our community.

"I really like to vape it I find that that's the most attractive fast-acting pain reliever," Delta 8 user Brianna Diamond said.

Brianna Diamond has been using Delta 8 at least three times a week for about 6 months now -- to help get rid of joint pain and inflammation, one of the many COVID effects she's now dealing with after testing positive in January.

"Ibuprofen, Aleve, things like that just didn't work for me and so delta, it's been the one thing that does work," Diamond explained.

Treatment at risk of being yanked away from Brianna and thousands of Texans with House Bill 2593 -- seeking to outlaw Delta 8.

"It really makes us sweat when it's like the one thing that works could be taken away,” Diamond said. “And that's really stressful."

She isn't alone.

"A lot of new small businesses opened up because of delta 8, us being one of them,” Abdulrashid revealed. “A lot of small businesses would have suffered, a lot of jobs that were created because of delta 8 would have been gone, basically."

Business owners and consumers alike say they're glad the bill didn't pass.

Brianna says she hopes lawmakers listen to people like her and help regulate products like these that work instead of taking them away.

But you’re still getting high.

“Yes, I do think so and it does work for people for that as well but at the same time, it's also keeping people out of trouble for that reason,” Diamond said. “And, you know, again taking it away, we just, you know, throw more people back into a system they don't need to be in, you know, as long as it's well-regulated, everything's tested, I don't see a problem with it.”

Both agree this isn’t the end of industry but rather a chance to continue to grow and expand.