A hazy legal landscape means people can get high on hemp products, even where pot is prohibited

Delta-8 supplements on a shelf at a Texas store. Sergio Flores/Washington Post via Getty Images

In Texas, where I live, marijuana has long been illegal. Yet on a busy street in my Houston neighborhood, at least five stores within a half-mile of each other sell cannabis products that promise a strong high.

Texas isn’t alone. Due to a mix of recent legal changes and an uncertain policy landscape, residents in roughly half of American states have easy access to impairing hemp products that bear a strong resemblance to marijuana and are far less regulated.