HAMPTON ROADS, Va - If you use THC products for pain, anxiety or insomnia, time is ticking.
On July 1, a new law will prohibit the sale of Delta 8 THC products, and local business owners are preparing to pull popular items off their shelves. Products like gummies with Delta 8 THC will be illegal.
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Bill to take Delta 8 THC off Virginia shelves come July 1
CBD shop owners, like Dustin Weekley of Bountifuel Utopia CBD, say they’re having to throw away thousands of dollars worth of products.
"This is all going to get thrown away tomorrow. We’ve lost thousands of thousands. These are the gummies," Weekley said. "There was a lot more that was thrown away. We knew we weren’t going to be able to sell it in time before the law changed."
Customers aren't happy, either.
"It’s frustrating. They approved it a while ago. It just seems like we’re going backward," said Michelle Westberry, a customer who buys Delta 8 THC gummies. "Especially for me, I just moved here from the West Coast living in California and Colorado."
Delta 8 THC is legal in North Carolina, and Westberry says she’ll be crossing state lines.
"Definitely out of state, whatever I got to do," Westberry said.
She goes to Queens Green Apothecary CBD in Virginia Beach to buy gummies.
"I love the CBD gummies with the Delta 8 in it. I love the drinks. It helps you not drink," she said. "It helps anxiety. There are just so many reasons why this is frustrating."
The owner of Queens Green Apothecary, Nicholas Rochas, says Delta 8 THC products are a huge chunk of the store's revenue.
"About half of my income per month will be lost because I can no longer sell this," Rochas said. It’s going to cost us about $10,000 a month in lost revenue. It just blows me away that we’re going backwards."
Rochas says he has to get rid of several products the new law goes into effect, such as gummies, vapes and drinks.
Lawmakers have said the original intent of the legislation was to keep intoxicating products, like Delta 8 THC, out of the hands of children. But by state law, you must be 21 years of age to go into a CBD shop to purchase products.
