A new federally funded study has found that, in states where marijuana remains criminalized, there’s significantly more sales of lesser-regulated hemp cannabinoid products like delta-8 THC. According to the study involving 1,523 U.S. adults, just 7.7% reported using delta-8 THC.

However, people living in states where cannabis is strictly prohibited were more than two times as likely to say they’ve used hemp cannabinoids such as delta-8 compared to those in states where marijuana is legal. This aligns with a common argument from advocates of legalizing and regulating marijuana sales – that without regulated access to more conventional products, more people will gravitate toward loosely regulated products that carry more significant public health risks.

“These findings underscore that people don’t just stop using cannabis when their state bans it. They often shift to alternatives that are easier to access, even if they’re less well-studied or poorly regulated,” said the senior author of the study.

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