That's not even really true anymore. I live in Texas, which has virtually no legal weed (beyond medical marijuana for a very small number of specific conditions like epilepsy and ALS - it's not like other states where you can say "Hey doc, I've got a headache, can I get a marijuana prescription?"), and yet I can walk into a nice, clean, friendly store in a strip mall and pick up some D9 gummies and brownies, as well as some THCA bud that to me is indistinguishable from "normal" marijuana.
The fact is the 2018 farm bill that legalized hemp had enough loopholes that it essentially legalized marijuana as well. While a lot of this is in a gray area (particularly in the case of THCA bud which appears to me to be a pretty blatant misrepresentation of the law, but I ain't complaining), it's clear there is no appetite anywhere to crack down on these loopholes. For example, Florida considered a bill this year that would crack down on D9 products, but there was already enough entrenched business opposition that the bill was killed.
Weed is legal in the US. If you're worried about legal consequences, just pay a little more and go to a nice dispensary and you're fine.
