Around the world, attitudes toward the marijuana plant are changing…and rapidly.

Once considered the drug of choice for lazy stoners, wannabe hippies, and professional pizza delivery drivers, recent research into the cannabis plant have shown there to be a myriad of potent compounds within.  And, with the legalization of hemp, (which shares some of these magical effects), even the squares are using CBD creams and edibles to treat everything from muscle soreness to depression and anxiety.

Now, as chemists and agriculturists have concocted a way to make hemp into a very marijuana-like substance, authorities in places where marijuana is still illegal are having trouble with the letter of law and how to apply it to not-quite-synthetic weed.

Texas CBD and vape shops are searching for answers, and some have filed temporary restraining orders against the state after they say health officials abruptly announced last week that they had added delta-8 THC products to their list of Schedule I controlled substances.

Delta-8 is a less-potent alternative to the delta-9 product known as marijuana, though it produces similar effects.

And the rollout of this reading of the law was flawed as well.

Official state documents show that for months, the Department of State Health Services has considered the product illegal.

But Ashley Flood, who owns a CBD American Shaman franchise location in Allen, and other shop owners and consumers say they were never informed of the decision that Commissioner John Hellerstedt announced more than a year ago or the move to update the state’s website.

“We didn’t find out from the state, we didn’t find out from law enforcement, we didn’t find out via letter, email — nothing. We found out from one of our suppliers,” she said after finding out about the change to the DSHS website.

And despite Flood’s understandable frustration, she has also suggested that her conversations with customer who are in law enforcement belied that the enforcement of this delta-8 rule is not a high priority for Texas authorities.

Around the world, attitudes toward the marijuana plant are changing…and rapidly. Once considered the drug of choice for lazy stoners, wannabe hippies, and professional pizza delivery drivers, recent research into the cannabis plant have shown there to be a myriad of potent compounds within.  And, with the legalization of hemp, (which shares some of these magical effects), even the squares are using CBD creams and edibles to treat everything from muscle soreness to depression and anxiety. Now, as chemists and agriculturists have concocted a way to make hemp into a very marijuana-like substance, authorities in places where marijuana is still illegal are having trouble with the letter of law and how to apply it to not-quite-synthetic weed. Texas CBD and vape shops are searching for answers, and some have filed temporary restraining orders against the state after they say health officials abruptly announced last week that they had added delta-8 THC products to their list of Schedule I controlled substances. Delta-8 is a less-potent alternative to the delta-9 product known as marijuana, though it produces similar effects. And the rollout of this reading of the law was flawed as well. Official state documents show that for months, the Department of State Health Services has considered the product illegal. But Ashley Flood, who owns a CBD American Shaman franchise location in Allen, and other shop owners and consumers say they were never informed of the decision that Commissioner John Hellerstedt announced more than a year ago or the move to update the state’s website. “We didn’t find out from the state, we didn’t find out from law enforcement, we didn’t find out via letter, email — nothing. We found out from one of our suppliers,” she said after finding out about the change to the DSHS website. And despite Flood’s understandable frustration,…

When it’s all said and done, there is little doubt that the debacle in Afghanistan will be a key point in the history of Joe Biden’s presidency.

His blunder, which was a decision to expedite the withdrawal of US forces from the nation after 20 years, allowed the Taliban terror organization to conquer Afghanistan in just 11 days, and forced our nation to abandon a great many American citizens and allies who were trying to escape.

Now, despite the administration’s insistence that this was a “kinder, gentler” Taliban than ruled back in the 1990’s, there are reports of widespread violence against women and minorities, and talk of a potential “collapse” of Afghanistan itself.

Afghanistan will shortly collapse into chaos unless the international community acts rapidly, Swedish and Pakistani ministers warned on Saturday.

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Afghanistan plunged into crisis after the hardline Islamist Taliban movement drove out the Western-backed government in August triggering the abrupt end of billions of dollars in assistance to its aid-dependent economy.

“The country is on the brink of collapse and that collapse is coming faster than we thought,” Swedish development minister Per Olsson Fridh told Reuters in Dubai.

And Fridh wasn’t the only one, either.

Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry later told Reuters that direct engagement with the Taliban was the only way to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, and called for billions of dollars of Afghan assets frozen overseas to be released.

“Are we going to push Afghanistan into chaos or are we going to try and stabilize the country?” he said in Dubai.

When it’s all said and done, there is little doubt that the debacle in Afghanistan will be a key point in the history of Joe Biden’s presidency. His blunder, which was a decision to expedite the withdrawal of US forces from the nation after 20 years, allowed the Taliban terror organization to conquer Afghanistan in just 11 days, and forced our nation to abandon a great many American citizens and allies who were trying to escape. Now, despite the administration’s insistence that this was a “kinder, gentler” Taliban than ruled back in the 1990’s, there are reports of widespread violence against women and minorities, and talk of a potential “collapse” of Afghanistan itself. Afghanistan will shortly collapse into chaos unless the international community acts rapidly, Swedish and Pakistani ministers warned on Saturday. Afghanistan plunged into crisis after the hardline Islamist Taliban movement drove out the Western-backed government in August triggering the abrupt end of billions of dollars in assistance to its aid-dependent economy. “The country is on the brink of collapse and that collapse is coming faster than we thought,” Swedish development minister Per Olsson Fridh told Reuters in Dubai. And Fridh wasn’t the only one, either. Pakistani Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry later told Reuters that direct engagement with the Taliban was the only way to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe, and called for billions of dollars of Afghan assets frozen overseas to be released. “Are we going to push Afghanistan into chaos or are we going to try and stabilize the country?” he said in Dubai. It was discovered through congressional testimony that President Biden had been warned of the potential for disaster in Afghanistan, but chose to continue with his expedited withdrawal anyway.