Well, tennis fans can get high from a product on the shelves of countless vape and smoke shops across the state of Tennessee. Chase be felt spoke with the seller and a lawmaker about D8, a product producing a legalized high, and how it compares to the real deal. D8 it's something you're buying. It's legal versus something you're buying that's illegal, sold, then smoked or swallowed. Delta 8 is in shops across Tennessee and it can get you high, but what is it everyone is familiar with, the CBD and they're familiar with the Marijuana Delta 9, but there is a lot more cabin noise in the plant other than just those.
D8 is one of those cannabinoid derived from hemp. According to E, Vape lounge owner Neil Murphy. It's on his shelves in the form of gummies, syrups, vapes joints and even chocolate bars. As of right now this is all legal to sell. And consume in the state of Tennessee. Neil says the USDA's 2018 farm bill makes this possible. Now, if you take D8 from marijuana, that's illegal. If you take it from him, it's a hemp product, and so that's why it's legal.
So it's not so much a loophole in the law. It's just the law on paper. Delta 8 is less concentrated with THC than your everyday marijuana found on the street. So we're in other states, legally, Delta 8 must be less than .03% THC if you're trying to head to head. I mean it's like alcohol if you drink. Couple shots versus a beer or something like that. That's different potency. Neal sales have gone up 30% since his store started selling D8 about a year ago, simply because the customers love it. It's also brought him a new demographic. I think maybe these people that grew up in the 60s and 70s are getting older retirement age and they're coming back to their roots and saying, hey, this is something I can get legally. It's interesting when you see a 6065 year old person coming here and you think they're wanting CBD and they're like no, no, no. I want that Delta 8 stuff. My pains, arthritis aches, and stuff like that. A lot of people said that that works better than CBD.
Neil and his customers like D8, but state lawmaker Gloria Johnson doesn't. Even though she wants to legalize marijuana, things like this are going to pop up because we're not willing to do the hard work to sit down and talk about this reform and how we go about legalization. The FDA also warns D8. THC products have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA. For safe use in any context, they may be marketed in ways that put the public health at risk from December 2020 through July 2021.
Only 22 adverse events were reported to the FDA. Some of those events included vomiting, hallucinations, trouble standing and loss of consciousness. Despite these reports, Neal and other Tennessee shops continue to sell D8 products. I hope that people see the benefit of the D8 and then somewhere down the road if they legalize marijuana, then we can move on to that side of it until then. Johnson works to garner bipartisan support for legalization. Farmers support it. We need a new cash crop.
Our neighbors are all doing it. What's the problem with Tennessee in Knoxville? I'm chase, be felt. At least 16 states have banned the sale of Delta 8, including some states where recreational marijuana is legal in Tennessee. Those 21 and up can purchase D8 products in vape shops. Like any product. Consult your doctor before you use it. This is so fascinating. I didn't even know about that either..