Tampa Bay veterans grapple with uncertainty over access to delta-8 hemp products

TAMPA — Tammy Long left rehab looking for a way to stay off the powerful painkiller hydrocodone.

A 26-year Navy veteran, Long had snorted the opioid and the stimulant Ritalin, both prescribed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, trying to ease a range of ailments after she retired from the military, she said.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury in Iraq when she fell off a troop truck and hit her head in 2003. She’s also grappled with chronic pain, migraines and post-traumatic stress.

“My body was just so broken,” said Long, 58, who retired in 2010 as a senior chief Navy counselor and later hurt her back while working as a property manager.

So she tried something new. Long began using medical marijuana and hemp extracts containing CBD and delta-8 THC, a chemical compound from the cannabis plant that affects how the brain functions.

And it worked. Long credits this mixture for quelling her pain and keeping her off the opioids and stimulants.

But Long and other veterans who rely on hemp extract may find themselves scrambling for alternatives. Access could soon be curtailed if Gov. Ron DeSantis signs a bill limiting the types of products that shops can sell.

Even though the products are not federally approved to treat health conditions,Long and others consider them over-the-counter medicine, using powder, gummies and even honey infused with cannabis ingredients to soothe problems like tremors or insomnia. They also say hemp extract is easier to purchase than medical marijuana, which requires a doctor’s approval.

Tammy Long holds a hemp product for sale at BattleBuds on March 13 in Tampa. [ LUIS SANTANA Times ]

“Some of us don’t want to get high — we want to get better. And we don’t want to go back on pills,” said Long, who four years ago opened a hemp shop in Tampa called BattleBuds. It averages up to 40 customers a month who are veterans.

She said dozens of veterans have urged DeSantis to veto the legislation.

“It’s very unfair,” said Pablo Bicca, a Marine Corps veteran in Wesley Chapel who hosts events at BattleBuds. “They’re making it so difficult for these farmers and businesses … to provide plants and medicine for patients.”

It’s unclear how many veterans across Florida use hemp products to address health issues. The Tampa Bay Times was unable to find data tracking the issue, but Bicca said he anecdotally knows of scores of former military members who do so.

The bill awaiting the governor’ssignature would ban stores from selling delta-8 THC and would further restrict how much delta-9 THC, marijuana’s best-known and primary mind-altering ingredient, is allowed in hemp extract. The ban would extend to hundreds of shops like Long’s.Business owners worry that Florida’s booming multibillion-dollar hemp industry could collapse if the bill takes effect Oct. 1, forcing companies to leave the stateor shut down. Products would be taken off shelves, but some retailers say Floridians would still be able to order them online from elsewhere in the country.

The state has separate regulations for medical marijuana and hemp extract. Medical marijuana users need a physician’s approval to buy products from a dispensary. Hemp users don’t need a referral to visit smoke shops, gas stations and other retailers.

The hemp industry could take a financial hit in November, too. That’s if Florida voters approve a proposed constitutional amendment legalizing recreational marijuana use for those 21 and older. The ballot measure would, at least initially, give the state’s 25 licensed medical marijuana companies the exclusive rights to sell recreational cannabis. Florida has more than 878,000 medical marijuana patients.

A DeSantis spokesperson in an email said the governor will review the hemp bill once it’s delivered to his office.

Concerns about people self-medicating

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration in a statement to the Timessaid cannabis products sold at smoke shops, convenience stores, gas stations and online have not been proven safe or effective. The agency has previously received 104 reports of delta-8 THC being linked to vomiting, anxiety, dizziness, confusion and loss of consciousness, among other symptoms. Delta-8 THC is similar to delta-9 THC, with the ability to affect someone’s mood and behavior, but is considered less potent.

While delta-8 THC products became widely available after Congress passed the 2018 Farm Bill defining and legalizing hemp at the national level, they are banned in 17 states, according to CBD Oracle, a consumer research company focused on cannabis.

Chocolate bars containing delta-9 THC and a bottle of BattleBuds CBD tincture, Champion Drops, at BattleBuds on March 13 in Tampa. [ LUIS SANTANA