Marijuana regulators around the country face a vexing question: What place does chemically derived THC have in regulated adult-use or medical markets?
THC is marijuana's most prominent high-inducing component, but it can be chemically created from CBD, another cannabis compound that is extracted from hemp plants.
It's much cheaper to produce THC from less-regulated hemp than it is from heavily taxed and regulated marijuana plants.
Licensed growers in legal-marijuana states say they've been following expensive regulations to participate in the industry, but now they're being undercut by THC derived from hemp.
The 2018 federal Farm Bill authorized the growing of hemp, which is low-THC cannabis, nationwide.