Marijuana is federally illegal. But what if you could get high off hemp?

Last month, Wisconsin-based company LiftedMade launched a new kind of weed product: a THC-infused flavor-popping crystal candy, called Urb Rocks. Like most other THC products, it will get you high. Unlike other products, though, the THC in Urb Rocks is sourced from hemp, which means it’s technically legal for sale in most states.

LiftedMade is selling Urb Rocks, along with other hemp and hemp-derived products, online for sale nationally. CEO Nick Warrender says the company wants to make cannabis products accessible to consumers who don’t have local access to legal weed. And, he says, “Our goal is also to make it more affordable for people that might not be able to afford to use cannabis on a daily basis.” At $5.99 for 15 mg of THC, the price is well below what marijuana-derived THC costs in most legal states.

The difference between cannabinoids derived from hemp or marijuana is a technicality — but it could have serious legal ramifications. Hemp and marijuana are classified botanically as the same plant, Cannabis sativa; the distinction between the two under U.S. law is in the amount of the cannabinoid known as THC, which is the plant’s psychoactive component. Under the Farm Bill passed by Congress in December of 2018, legal hemp contains 0.3 percent or less THC, while marijuana contains more than .3 percent THC. Hemp won’t get you stoned, or so the thinking goes. [Read More @ Rollingstone]