A popular Houston brewery and distillery has expanded its partnership with one of the city's foremost producers of hemp-based products by launching a new dispensary. 8th Wonder Cannabis will be a source for a wide range of products, including beverages, gummies, edibles, and more.

Located within 8th Wonder Distillery in EaDo (2201 Dallas St.), 8th Wonder Cannabis will serve as a dispensary and consumption lounge. Scheduled to begin a soft opening October 17, the facility aims to serve both experienced cannabis users as well as the "canna-curious," those who are still adjusting to the world of legal hemp-based products such as CBD and Delta-8 THC. It will sell products that 8th Wonder produces in partnership with Bayou City Hemp as well as those produced by brands such as Third Coast Blends, Mixer Elixir, and Leaf Life Wellness.

8th Wonder Cannabis deepens the partnership that began last year when 8th Wonder Brewing teamed up with Bayou City Hemp to produce Wonder Water, a non-alcoholic beverage available with either CBD or Delta-8 that has become the top-selling to-go product at 8th Wonder. Since then, 8th Wonder has expanded its line with different seltzers including Trillionaire, a watermelon-flavored, Delta-8 beverage produced in collaboration with Houston hip hop legend Bun B.

“We firmly believe the future of the hospitality industry will feature cannabis quite extensively,” 8th Wonder president and co-founder Ryan Soroka said in a statement. “As stewards of the cannabis industry in Texas, Bayou City Hemp’s emphasis on innovation, quality, and collaboration not only produces the best products, but helps normalize cannabis in a safe and trusted way.”

Part of that trust comes from the use of both in-house and third-party laboratory analysis to ensure that the products contain what only as much CBD or THC as they are advertised to. In addition, 8th Wonder only sells its products to people who are 21 or older.

Hemp-based products became legal in Texas with the passage of House Bill 1325, a law that followed a 2018 federal law that legalized hemp but kept marijuana legal. To qualify, a product must have less than 0.3-percent THC. Whether the Texas Department of State Health Services has the authority to ban Delta-8 is the subject of an ongoing lawsuit, the Texas Tribune reports.

Soroka acknowledges that 8th Wonder Cannabis would include marijuana products if they ever become legal in Texas. Polls show support for such a move, and gubernatorial Beto O'Rourke has made that part of his campaign platform.

"Some people still want to let loose and socialize as beer and spirits allow many people to do. Hemp and "cannabis products are also an option for people," Soroka tells CultureMap. "We want this to be done in a way that hopefully will include marijuana in the end game. Right now, the name of the game is hemp, and we’re going to continue in that path."