Delta 8 THC is a new, federally-legal cannabinoid that’s been gaining a vast amount of popularity since the start of 2021. It’s easy to find store signs advertising “Legal Delta 8 THC” for sale inside, and sometimes the prospects within can seem less than legit.
Much like with the regular legal cannabis market, knowing what products are good and which ones are best left on the store shelves can be tricky, and with a vast array of brands available knowing what to look for in a Delta 8 THC product can be tricky.
In today’s article we’ll be talking about where to buy Delta 8 THC, what you should be looking for when you buy it, and some of our preferred brand names, to help you avoid getting ripped off with a bad product. Let’s dive in.
Note: the products in this article have been independently selected and featured editorially. Making a purchase using a link in this article may earn us a commission.
What is Delta 8 THC?
We go over this in a full write-up in our article “
” but to summarize, Delta 8 THC is a cannabinoid compound found in hemp flower very similar in composition to Delta 9 THC (IE: the chemical most people think of when they think of weed getting someone high). Though Delta 8 THC does occur naturally in the cannabis plant most Delta 8 THC available for sale is “hemp derived”, typically meaning converted from the cannabinoid CBD via a series of solvent rinses, vacuum extraction and the like.Delta 8 THC isn’t quite as strong as Delta 9 but has it’s own unique benefits and properties worth checking out, effecting our cannabinoid receptors and central nervous system very differently from it’s D9 relative. For more on the subject, we highly recommend checking out our article above.
Can I Save Money Buying Delta 8 Distillate Online?
Yes – And not just a little bit of money, a lot of money. Case in point: Say your average pack of Delta 8 gummies has 300 total milligrams of Delta 8 THC in the container, and costs twenty dollars. For that same cost, some of the Delta 8 THC distillate manufacturers on our list will provide you with a whole 10 grams (or 10,000mg) of Delta 8 – That’s enough home made gummies to last a very, very long time. And if you’re interested in buying Delta 8 distillate in bulk? The prices typically only get cheaper the more you purchase.
Does the Color of My Delta 8 Distillate Matter?
Some sites will offer distillate with a slight amber color, while some will tout their distillate’s color as being perfectly clear; some will even offer both. Ultimately the starting color of your Delta 8 THC distillate comes down to purity, and the more pure your distillate is the less color there will be. But over time any Delta 8 oil or distillate will turn darker in color due to oxidation, and literally nothing save a complete vacuum will stop that from occurring.
If getting 100% Delta 8 THC is your goal, the clearer the better, but amber-colored blends (typically including cannabinoids such as CBD, THCV or CBG) are also intriguing options. Ultimately the choice is yours as a consumer, just remember – The clearer the wax, the more pure it is.
Is Delta 8 THC Legal?
We talk about this in further detail in our main article “Is Delta 8 THC Legal?” but it’s worth going over again here:
From a federal standpoint, yes – Delta 8 is among the wide range of cannabinoids produced by the hemp plant that were made legal to possess & sell in the United States with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill act. However, that doesn’t mean Delta 8 isn’t in a bit of a tricky position when it comes to the law.
Delta 8 is produced naturally by the cannabis plant, but only in very small amounts. While Delta 9 THC will degrade over time into it’s Delta 8 form, finding a large enough, naturally-occurring quantity of Delta 8 to sell as a product is likely not very viable. Instead, as mentioned earlier, the vast majority of Delta 8 products available on store shelves are “hemp derived”, and this often means transformed from other, more common cannabinoids such as CBD.
It’s this line between “extraction” vs “transformation” that gives Delta 8 THC it’s murky legal waters. While naturally-found Delta 8 THC is fully legal to possess, Delta 8 THC derived from CBD is potentially considered a “synthetic cannabinoid” or “analogue” in the eyes of the US government; a category of illicit substance first made illegal around the time JWH-018, “Spice”, and other non-naturally-forming cannabinoids began flooding the online market.
Unlike the analog compounds made illegal by the United States FDA, Delta 8 THC is a naturally-forming chemical, and determining whether or not a random bag of Delta 8 THC gummies contains naturally-produced D8 or Delta 8 converted from CBD is tricky to prove from a legal standpoint. Additionally, there are specific state laws that also enact bans on synthetically-derived cannabinoids, making Delta 8 products illegal in some areas even where recreational or medical cannabis use has been legalized.
Long story short, is Delta 8 THC legal? Depending on where you live, yes, but with it’s growing popularity and scrutiny from both local and federal governments, smart consumers will keep their eyes out for news and updates on Delta 8’s overall legality.
What Should I Look For When Buying Delta 8 Distillate Online?
The online legal cannabinoid market can be a bit like the wild west, with very little oversight and shady vendors lurking around every corner. In general, we like to offer these three tips for making a safe, informed Delta 8 purchase online:
- Easy to find, consistently high customer reviews
- Manufacturer’s website has publicly available lab testing results
- Producer will not ship to areas where Delta 8 has been determined to be illegal
Bear these three things in mind and you’ll be well-armed when it comes to making a smart Delta 8 purchase. Of course, having a few good places to start never hurts, which finally brings us to…
HighThere’s List of the Best Delta 8 THC Distillate
The Hemp Collect
is an Oregon-based company with one of the smallest offerings of Delta 8 distillate on our list, making their product available in a 1 gram “sampler size” for a… not entirely unreasonable price, but still magnitudes higher than if purchasing larger amounts in one go. The Hemp Collect has a wide array of reputable customer reviews and, like any good cannabinoid producer, has laboratory results readily available on their website.Terpene blends aren’t typically added to their Delta 8 distillate products but a note on their website says you can “call to discuss” this as an add-on request so… I guess if you’re one of those people who don’t avoid phone calls like the plague (such as myself) that’s a thing you can do.
CannaClear
A Kentucky-proud company through-and-through
provides USA-grown Delta 8 distillate at rock bottom prices, with on-demand laboratory results to back up their wares. If you’re looking to make a bulk Delta 8 order CannaClear offers prices on their amounts anywhere from 14 grams to a full kilogram of distillate – And higher.CannaClear’s shipping times can be a bit long, being a small-scale organization, but their quality is top-notch, and with over twenty terpene sauce blends to choose from there’s no end of variety. We also appreciate the extra lengths CannaClear goes to in shipping, with the distillate arriving in jars that have been additionally vacuum sealed for freshness. Easily #1 on our list for both price and customer service.
Nature’s Purpose CBD
has a few different Delta 8 products for sale, including distillates that contain a blend of Delta 8 THC and THCV, another legal cannabinoid designed to provide a euphoric, more clear-headed high (and also potentially contains a number of surprising medical benefits). Nature’s Purpose also offers their standard Delta 8 THC distillate in it’s pure form with a choice of five terpene sauce blends available for additional purpose as well as a “full spectrum” Delta 8 distillate/oil including CBD and CBG mixed in.Denex
offers nine different terpene sauces to go with their Delta 8 distillate; terpene-sauce blended distillate is only available in 10g portions on their website, though Denex claims to do bulk ordering via phone sales. If looking for plain distillate with no terpenes include Denex’s website will allow for orders ranging from 10g to 1kg but, again, will gladly talk bulk/wholesale prices for anyone interested. Denex’s D8 distillate is hemp-derived from locally-sourced Colorado hemp farms, and testing results for each batch are available on their website for public viewing.
Harbor City Hemp
has several options available for their Delta 8 distillate, with the notable uniqueness of allowing buyers to choose between botanically-derived terpenes (BDT) or C02-derived terpenes (CDT) mixed in with their product. Distillate without the hemp-derived terpenes is also available, and in a wide range of sizes. Harbor City Hemp also offers pre-filled Delta 8 syringes for easy refilling of reusable vape carts, and even has a tincture “sampler bundle” including CBG, CBD, and Delta 8 tincture bottles.FreshBros
offers their Delta 8 distillate in either 10g or 100g options, with a choice between six different terpene oil blends available (included with purchase is a handy little dosing syringe, though don’t expect it to work with your Delta 8 at room temperature). Monthly lab tests are posted to their website for each of their distillate batches, and overall customer satisfaction for the Dallas, TX-based manufacturer trends high.
What Do I Do With Delta 8 THC Distillate?
Anything you’d like! Delta 8 distillate is a “pre-activated” cannabinoid, meaning it doesn’t need to go through a decarbing process like regular raw cannabis would. And while you can just flat-out eat it’s distillate, Delta 8 THC might be better served in one of the following ways:
Delta 8 THC can be substituted for Delta 9 concentrates (or any other cannabinoid isolate/distillate) in whatever edibles recipe you might like. Since Delta 8 THC is a bit less potent than Delta 9 you may want to up the overall ratio of your distillate content – Adding in just shy of 2x the amount should serve you well.
And if you’re looking for a few cannabis edibles recipes ideas, may we humbly suggest our “
” and “” articles? Again, all instructions will work just as well with Delta 8 distillate as they will Delta 9; just consider doubling your amount of concentrate.Delta 8 THC is a very sticky substance, particularly at room temperatures, but can be easily added to a vaporizer or dab rig. Putting Delta 8 distillate onto raw cannabis bud is also an option, but one that can get messy quickly – Particularly if rolling papers are involved. Putting some Delta 8 distillate in your refillable vape cart, however, works just fine.
Mixed with a very scant amount of a high-proof alcohol (think Everclear or the like) Delta 8 will make a fine tincture, able to be applied along the gum line or under the tongue. We recommend steering clear of topical creams and ointments, as
that Delta 8 THC has a low absorption rate when placed on skin.