Delta-8 THC is bad.
That’s the basic substance of a pair of health advisory statements released Sept. 14 by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
From December 2020 through July 2021, the FDA received adverse event reports from consumers and law enforcement officials describing 22 patients who consumed delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) products. Of the 22 patients, 14 went to a hospital or emergency room for treatment. Some of their “adverse events” included vomiting, hallucinations, trouble standing and loss of consciousness.
For many who attend college, those adverse events would just be another Saturday night at a house party, where alcohol and/or drugs are often overconsumed by youngsters just trying to have a good time.
Does that mean the FDA or CDC should just ignore possible delta-8 side effects? Probably not. But those 22 patients represent a needle in a haystack considering the thousands of U.S. consumers creating the current demand for delta-8 products.
Chagrin Valley Hemp Co. CEO Ben Moidell, who operates a hemp processing facility on Cleveland’s east side that also offers an array of delta-8 products—from chocolate bars to vape cartridges and dabs—recently told Cannabis Business Times that upward of 90% of his business shifted to a delta-8 audience in 2021.
For those who don’t know, many states have already taken action to ban or regulate delta-8 products, which have gained traction from, perhaps, a legal loophole—the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 specifically defines the legal delta-9 THC concentration of 0.3% for hemp but does not define delta-8 concentrations.
Learn more about that legal gray area in our recent delta-8 webinar.
While cannabis cultivars with higher delta-9 potencies are associated with greater psychoactive effects, concentrated amounts of delta-8 can be manufactured from hemp-derived, non-psychoactive cannabidiol (CBD) and then introduced to products to create a similar psychoactive effect.
With delta-8’s popularity taking off this year, a rise in poison control reports associated with the cannabinoid have been documented across the country. Among the 661 exposure cases involving delta-8 products received by poison control centers since 2018, only one case predates 2021, according to the FDA. But that’s partly because a new product code specific to delta-8 was created by the American Association of Poison Control Centers this year, allowing those cases to be tracked in the National Poison Data System, according to the CDC.
So, here’s the kicker. Among the 661 cases, 41% involved unintentional exposure to delta-8. And 77% of those unintentional exposures affected pediatric patients under the age of 18, according to the FDA. And when kids are accidentally exposed to drugs that aren’t intended for them, people take notice.
The CDC made an example of that statistic by focusing on two children in Michigan who ingested a parent’s delta-8 gummies purchased from a vape shop. The kids experienced deep sedation and slowed breathing with initial increased heart rate progressing to slowed heart rate and decreased blood pressure.
Those of us who are parents would never want that for our children. We wouldn’t want them to get their hands on alcohol or tobacco products, nor would we want them getting into our prescription medicine cabinets. That’s a parent responsibility and packaging issue.
As far as the adult unintentional exposure cases go, yes, there needs to be regulation on providing accurate labeling, so consumers know exactly what they’re getting without unintended effects—much like we already see in adult-use cannabis markets that aim to ensure consumer safety with delta-9 products. But stigmatizing delta-8 and sticking it in the prohibition jar would be a mistake.
That said, it’s a real headscratcher that an agency like the FDA, which has spent years wanting nothing to do with regulating over-the-counter CBD as a dietary supplement, suddenly has a vested interest in delta-8 products.
-Tony Lange, Associate Editor
