Thread by @chron

A hemp manufacturer and retailer asked a judge Wednesday to temporarily suspend the @TexasDSHS classification of Delta 8 THC as a controlled substance.
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This is the first legal step taken since the department quietly announced the change last week.
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Up until last week, retailers and manufacturers worked under the assumption that Delta 8 THC products were legal to sell and possess under Texas law.
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But a sudden change to DSHS's website on the state's Consumable Hemp Program detailing Delta 8's controlled substance designation left the industry in a lurch.
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"These recent developments have caught companies that sell hemp-derived products as well as their consumers off guard..."

"...immediately turning them into potential felons subject to arrest despite years of engaging in this same business without issue or law enforcement interference,” attorney David Sergi wrote in the petition provided by the Texas Hemp Federation.

Attorneys claim DSHS and Commissioner John Hellerstedt didn't have the authority to change the list of controlled substances, despite the department claiming otherwise.
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In August 2020, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency updated its list of controlled substances to reflect the changes made by the federal Farm Bill of 2018, paving the way for other types of THC to be legal under the new hemp law — including Delta 8 THC.
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Any time the DEA "designates, reschedules, or deletes" any part of the federal controlled substances, individual states are allowed to choose whether or not to adopt the changes or stick with their existing rules.
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In Texas, that decision is solely up to Hellerstedt.

However, attorneys argue that the changes implemented by the DEA in 2019 were merely "conforming" the list to the new federal law rather than taking action.
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A public notice for the hearing to decide the change was posted online in September 2020 titled "Objection to Implementing DEA Rule Changes," but it provided no further context.

No one showed up to the public hearing in question, and no one wrote in any comments.

Then, when publishing their ruling in Texas’ official records, things got even shadier.

@jayrjordan has more 👇
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