Delta-8 THC products have exploded in popularity previously year, especially in states that haven't yet legalized the adult utilization of cannabis.
Illicit delta-8 THC vape cartridges may be setting America up for another VAPI lung crisis.
The legal status of delta-8 continues to evolve (more on that here), but there exists a question consumers should ask before considering delta-8's legality: Can it be safe to consume?
Almost all delta-8 THC products can be purchased outside of state-licensed and state-regulated cannabis industries. Because unregulated space, you will find no rules to prevent bad actors from making and selling potentially toxic products.
That's a pressing and consistent concern we heard from regulators, lab technicians, physicians, and other experts.
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What is delta-8?
Alarming results from product tests
A written report issued June 2 by the U.S. Cannabis Council, a national trade group representing state-licensed cannabis companies and legalization advocates, delta 10 vs delta 8 described the boom in unregulated delta-8 THC sales as a “rapidly expanding crisis.”
No testing. No oversight. No telling what's in those carts.
Sales of delta-8 THC products pose a competitive threat to licensed and regulated cannabis manufacturers and retailers, because delta-8 makers don't have to adhere to the costly quality control and safety standards imposed upon licensed companies. But that doesn't mean the public health problems expressed by licensed companies aren't unfounded.
While efforts to legalize and regulate cannabis “should encompass delta-8 THC,” the Cannabis Council report stated, “the fact it has been sold outside the regulated marketplace without any oversight or testing and is easily obtainable to children is alarming, and it presents a public health danger of potentially wider impact compared to vape crisis.”
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Why should I be careful?
Whether it's inhaling harmful contaminants, purchasing a product without any actual delta-8 THC, or finding a high that's far stronger than expected, there's a lot to consider.
The risks of buying an unlicensed delta-8 THC product can vary from simple potency fraud to hospitalization and death. The risks of buying an unlicensed delta-8 THC product can vary from simple potency fraud to hospitalization and death—at the very least in the event of vape products.
That's no exaggeration. In 2019, more than 2,700 THC vape users were sickened after inhaling Vitamin E oil used as an oil thickener in unlicensed illicit-market cartridges. At the least 68 people died after contracting VAPI, or EVALI, the deadly lung condition brought on by inhaling vaporized Vitamin E oil. This is exactly why scientists, growers, lab technicians, other experts and even some sellers will all inform you the same: Buyer beware.
What's in this stuff?
In April 2021, a research team backed by the U.S. Cannabis Council purchased an assortment of unlicensed delta-8 THC products from unregulated shops in California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Indiana.
Lots of the unlicensed delta-8 vape cartridges contained solvents at levels not safe for human consumption.
Of the 16 products tested by ProVerde Laboratories in Massachusetts, none were compliant with the legal limit of 0.3% THC specified in the 2018 farm bill.
According to the report, many of the products contained compounds banned by state law in regulated cannabis products. Those compounds included the metals chromium, copper, nickel, and lead.
Additionally, many of the samples contained residual traces of solvents (the chemicals used along the way to separate delta-8 THC from hemp) at levels not safe for human inhalation. Those solvents included hexane, methanol, dichloromethane, ethyl acetate, heptane, acetone, and isopropanol.
Retail sources: Untested, unregulated, unknown
You will find basically two ways to purchase delta-8: online, or in unlicensed stores like smoke shops and gas stations. There are a few infused delta-8 THC edible products sold in licensed cannabis stores by reputable companies, but the great majority of delta-8 products can be purchased beyond your state-licensed cannabis system.
In state-licensed cannabis stores, all goods are susceptible to strict state-mandated testing for potency and purity.
In state-licensed cannabis stores, all cannabis goods are susceptible to strict state-mandated testing for potency and purity. Meaning an item promising 100mg of delta-8 THC will contain 100mg of delta-8 THC. And inhalable delta-8 products have, in many legal states, been tested for mold, mildew, and other adulterants that you don't want in your lungs. Testing isn't always perfect—California doesn't require testing for Vitamin E oil, for instance—but it's far better than no testing at all.
When buying online or in unlicensed stores, it's not uncommon to encounter totally untested and potentially contaminated forms of delta-8. There's no way to know whether the delta-8 potency advertised on the package is actually within the product.
Although delta-8 THC is really a naturally occurring cannabinoid, the substance on the market today is usually synthesized from CBD—and there's no quality control check into products produced beyond your state-licensed cannabis system.
Exploring a brand new high
Another thing to consider: the newest and untested nature of the cannabinoid itself. Delta-8 THC, in this concentrated form, is something we haven't seen before.
We're not nearly as acquainted with delta-8 as we're with whole, natural cannabis, based on Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a Harvard professor and physician who specializes in cannabis.
“We realize the harms of cannabis effectively because, a) it's been around for 5,000 years, and b), the us government spent $10 billion trying to prove that it was harmful,” Grinspoon explained in an email to Leafly.
Delta-8 is in such a small proportion in whole plant cannabis, which includes like 600 compounds in it and like 150 or so cannabinoids,” Grinspoon added, explaining these exist in very, really small quantities in whole cannabis. “So, simply because cannabis is rather safe—or relatively nontoxic—doesn't mean that each of the components in it may also be fairly safe.
That's because people are now ingesting those individual components, like delta-8, in much larger quantities than ever before.
A somewhat unknown cannabinoid
“We take a lot of liberties with this specific plant, you know, turning it into a vaporizable product or making a hard-pressed tablet,” said Dr. Mary Clifton, a New York-based physician who specializes in cannabinoid medicine.
It's almost impossible to find clinical studies on the consequences of delta-8 THC. The only real known study was published nearly 50 years back, in 1973. That research found intravenous delta-8 THC doses including 1mg to 6mg “produced an extensive spectrum of cannabis-like effects.” Which doesn't reveal much.
More recently, a cancer researcher in Israel proposed a study of delta-8 THC to work out how effective certain doses of delta-8 THC would be in alleviating nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. That study began in 2006 but was abandoned ahead of completion.
Chemicals and contaminants
In states where cannabis is legal for adults, you will find systems of strict rules and regulations governing who sells it and how and where it's sold.
Delta-8 THC surfaced on the market in 2019 in a many different way—appearing on shelves in stores not licensed to sell cannabis. In many cases, it appeared alongside non-intoxicating CBD products, which are legal to sell with out a cannabis license.
States have now been grappling with how to handle this relatively new substance. In Oregon, a proposed bill would regulate the “processing, transportation, delivery, sale and purchase” of delta-8 and other artificially derived cannabinoids — treating it like the state's legal cannabis industry. New York's state health department recently banned the manufacture of delta-8 THC products produced from hemp. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) recently announced that licensed delta-8 THC products must conform to mention delta-9 THC regulations—however the LCB can't regulate cannabis products sold beyond your state-licensed system.
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