As of November 12, 2026, THC-O Acetate is illegal to sell (federally scheduled; state law on file reads gray area) in North Carolina. THC-O acetate federally illegal from Nov 12, 2026: it leaves hemp as a cannabinoid the plant cannot make and falls in Schedule I. Controlling source: N.C. Gen. Stat. 90-89(7), Schedule I synthetic cannabinoids.
Verified November 12, 2026 (hash check) · confidence: under reviewIs THC-O Acetate Legal? Every state and federal law
North Carolina THC-O Acetate ban status: ban in force
No North Carolina statute names THC-O acetate. The hemp definition (G.S. 90-87(13a)) covers derivatives of the plant with not more than 0.3% delta-9 THC, which favors legality. But G.S. 90-89(7) places in Schedule I any synthetic chemical compound that is a cannabinoid receptor agonist and mimics the effect of naturally occurring substances, with no hemp exception in that subdivision. THC-O acetate is made by acetylating hemp THC and does not occur in the plant, so it fits the words synthetic chemical compound more closely than plant cannabinoids do. Whether that clause reaches it, given the hemp derivative language, is untested; no enacted hemp rule names it. Separately, the federal hemp definition narrows on November 12, 2026 under P.L. 119-37; that change is tracked in the federal row, not this state row.
Any quantity of any synthetic chemical compound that (i) is a cannabinoid receptor agonist and mimics the pharmacological effect of naturally occurring substances or (ii) has a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is not listed as a controlled substance in Schedules I through V, and is not an FDA-approved drug.
Among North Carolina’s 4 neighbors, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia are illegal, the same posture as North Carolina.
Open the interactive map · Every compound in North Carolina · Where THC-O Acetate is banned · Hemp ban in North Carolina · THC ban in North Carolina · Federal hemp ban: what changes Nov 12 and Dec 11 · Embed this map
Federally scheduled or prohibited. THC-O acetate federally illegal from Nov 12, 2026: it leaves hemp as a cannabinoid the plant cannot make and falls in Schedule I Federal detail
3 instruments on file for this compound’s framework in North Carolina; 4 of 4 citations above are official sources. Each text carries its source and a fingerprint that changes when the law does.
7da42f1f4b5f1efc90-87(13a) ["Hemp" means] "the plant Cannabis sativa (L.) and any part of that plant" [...] "with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%)" "on a dry weight basis." (13b) [“Hemp products” means] "all products made from hemp, including, but not limited to, cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel" [...]. (16) [Marijuana] "The term does not include hemp or hemp products." [Bracketed spans summarized.]
960fd04779fcaf80Synthetic cannabinoids. - Any quantity of any synthetic chemical compound that (i) is a cannabinoid receptor agonist and mimics the pharmacological effect of naturally occurring substances or (ii) has a stimulant, depressant, or hallucinogenic effect on the central nervous system that is not listed as a controlled substance in Schedules I through V, and is not an FDA-approved drug. Synthetic cannabinoids include, but are not limited to, the substances listed in sub-subdivisions a. through p. of this subdivision and any substance that contains any quantity of their salts, isomers (whether optical, positional, or geometric), homologues, and salts of isomers and homologues, unless specifically excepted, whenever the existence of these salts, isomers, homologues, and salts of isomers and homologues is possible within the specific chemical designation. The following substances are examples of synthetic cannabinoids and are not intended to be inclusive of the substances included in this Schedule:
70c77d00142ac889(13a) "Hemp" means the plant Cannabis sativa (L.) and any part of that plant, including the seeds thereof and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers, whether growing or not, with a delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol concentration of not more than three-tenths of one percent (0.3%) on a dry weight basis. (13b) “Hemp products” means all products made from hemp, including, but not limited to, cloth, cordage, fiber, food, fuel, paint, paper, particleboard, plastics, seed, seed meal and seed oil for consumption, and verified propagules for cultivation if the seeds originate from hemp varieties. (16) "Marijuana" means all parts of the plant of the genus Cannabis, whether growing or not; the seeds thereof; the resin extracted from any part of such plant; and every compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such plant, its seeds or resin, but shall not include the mature stalks of such plant, fiber produced from such stalks, oil, or cake made from the seeds of such plant, any other compound, manufacture, salt, derivative, mixture, or preparation of such mature stalks (except the resin extracted therefrom), fiber, oil, or cake, or the sterilized seed of such plant which is incapable of germination. The term does not include hemp or hemp products.
Compound Laws, published by Compound Analytics, reports the record: statutes verbatim, official citations, enforcement facts and verification dates. Nothing here is legal advice and nothing here describes how to get around a law. A jurisdiction with no verified row is reported as not yet verified, never as legal. Found an error? Corrections policy.
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