A survey of licensed retailers in Fort Worth, Texas found that Delta-8 THC was available at about 10% of locations, with tobacco and hemp shops far more likely to carry it than alcohol-only stores, and availability held steady even as Texas litigated its legality.
Cannabis policy researchers, public health regulators, and anyone tracking the Delta-8 market.
~10% of licensed retailers in Fort Worth sold Delta-8 THC
What the researchers found
Delta-8 THC retail availability was 11% at the first time point and 9% at the second, showing no significant decline despite ongoing legal challenges. Tobacco license holders were 15 times more likely and hemp license holders 22 times more likely to carry Delta-8 than alcohol-only retailers.
Why it matters
Delta-8 THC exists in a regulatory gray area in many states. This study provides some of the first data on where it is actually sold and whether legal uncertainty affects availability, revealing that the market remained stable despite litigation.
The numbers in context
Time 1: 133 of 1,223 locations (11%) sold Delta-8. Time 2: 94 of 1,026 (9%). Tobacco retailers: 15x higher odds. Hemp retailers: 22x higher odds. In more disadvantaged areas, alcohol retailers had higher odds of selling Delta-8 at Time 2.
How the study worked
Researchers called all locations in Fort Worth with alcohol, tobacco, or consumable hemp retail licenses at two time points (before and after Texas announced Delta-8 litigation). Linked retailer locations to census block area deprivation index scores and used logistic regression to identify predictors of availability.
What this study cannot tell us
Single-city study in Texas, which has unique cannabis laws. Phone-based survey may not capture all retailers. Area deprivation associations were borderline significant.
How to read the evidence
Systematic retail survey with census-linked analysis, but limited to one city and two time points.
When this study was published
2024 study with data from 2021-2022.
The bigger picture
The persistence of Delta-8 sales despite legal challenges illustrates how quickly novel cannabinoid markets can establish themselves and how difficult they are to regulate retroactively. The socioeconomic disparity finding adds an equity dimension to the regulatory debate.
Questions still open
- How does Delta-8 retail availability compare in states with legal recreational cannabis? Are consumers in disadvantaged areas disproportionately exposed to unregulated cannabinoid products?
Common questions
How common was Delta-8 THC in stores?
Did legal uncertainty reduce Delta-8 sales?
What types of stores sold Delta-8?
Read the original research
Factors Associated with Delta-8 THC Retail Availability in Fort Worth, Texas, 2021-2022.
Substance use & misuse, 59(6), 840-846
Citation
LoParco, C R; Kong, A Y; Yockey, R A; Sekhon, V; Olsson, S; Rossheim, M E. (2024). Factors Associated with Delta-8 THC Retail Availability in Fort Worth, Texas, 2021-2022.. Substance use & misuse, 59(6), 840-846. https://doi.org/10.1080/10826084.2024.2305793