Beware of Hemp Derived Cannabinoid Products!

They are not regulated and haven’t been studied.

I’ve been an advocate for legal access to medical cannabis for my entire adult life. I am a true believer in the medicinal potential of cannabis, including its main cannabinoid Delta-9 THC, to help alleviate pain and to lessen suffering. That doesn’t mean that I think cannabis is entirely safe to use, for everyone, or that I necessarily believe that all of the newly ubiquitous cannabis or hemp derived products are helpful in their current incarnation.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the hemp derived products that have been flooding the market, such as Delta-8 THC, there is no independent person or agency regulating them - which is highly dangerous. These products haven’t been studied sufficiently, if at all. The claims of benefit have been exaggerated, if not wholly fabricated.

There is no reason to think that the labels delineating which each product purportedly contains are even remotely accurate, or that these products are free from contamination with heavy metals or other, random industrial byproducts.

I would avoid these products until this industry is sufficiently regulated or somehow manages to get its act together on its own.

What are hemp derived products?

The 2018 Farm Bill sensibly legalized the production, distribution, and sale of the hemp plant which, botanically, is the same plant as cannabis, just with a THC level of less than 0.3%, so that it isn’t intoxicating. The Farm Bill didn’t explicitly prohibit the molecules that might be produced from hemp derived CBD through various chemical reactions. Many of these products are intoxicating and are generally referred to as “semi-synthetic cannabinoids.” The most commonly available product is Delta-8 THC, which is chemically similar to the regular Delta-9 THC we find in cannabis. The main difference between Delta-8 THC and Delta-9 THC is the location of a minor chemical bond. Delta-8 is found in the cannabis plant, as one of the five hundred or so chemicals that comprise cannabis, but only in very trace quantities – not enough to commercialize.

According to the Law of Unintended Consequences, intoxicating cannabinoids like Delta-8 have sprouted up all over the place, including at gas stations, smoke shops, and online vendors.

Their sale, for example to minors, is much less stringently regulated than sales of cannabis at legal dispensaries. These products are consumed more frequently in places where cannabis is illegal - people try to approximate the effects of cannabis by purchasing and consuming this mail-order interior substitute.