Delta-8 THC products have exploded in popularity in the past year, especially in states that haven't yet legalized the adult usage of cannabis.
Illicit delta-8 THC vape cartridges might 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: Is it safe to consume?
Nearly all delta-8 THC products are sold beyond state-licensed and state-regulated cannabis industries delta 8 drug test. Because unregulated space, there are no rules to prevent bad actors from making and selling potentially toxic products.
That is 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, 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 need certainly to adhere to the costly quality control and safety standards imposed upon licensed companies. But that doesn't mean the public health threats 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 that it has been sold outside of the regulated marketplace without oversight or testing and is readily available to children is alarming, and it presents a public health risk of potentially wider impact compared to the vape crisis.”
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Why should I be cautious?
Whether it's inhaling harmful contaminants, purchasing a product without actual delta-8 THC, or obtaining a high that's far stronger than expected, there's a lot to consider.
The risks of shopping for an unlicensed delta-8 THC product can vary from simple potency fraud to hospitalization and death. The risks of shopping for an unlicensed delta-8 THC product can vary from simple potency fraud to hospitalization and death—at least in the case of vape products.
That's no exaggeration. In 2019, a lot 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 due to inhaling vaporized Vitamin E oil. That's why scientists, growers, lab technicians, other experts and even some sellers will all tell you a similar thing: Buyer beware.
What's in this stuff?
In April 2021, a study team backed by the U.S. Cannabis Council purchased selection of unlicensed delta-8 THC products from unregulated retail stores in California, Florida, Nevada, Texas, Michigan, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Indiana.
Many 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.
In line with the report, most of the products contained compounds prohibited by state law in regulated cannabis products. Those compounds included the metals chromium, copper, nickel, and lead.
Additionally, most of the samples contained residual traces of solvents (the chemicals used in the process 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 can find basically two ways to buy delta-8: online, or in unlicensed stores like smoke shops and gas stations. There are several infused delta-8 THC edible products sold in licensed cannabis stores by reputable companies, but a large proportion of delta-8 products are sold beyond your state-licensed cannabis system.
In state-licensed cannabis stores, all goods are at the mercy of strict state-mandated testing for potency and purity.
In state-licensed cannabis stores, all cannabis goods are at the mercy of strict state-mandated testing for potency and purity. That means a product promising 100mg of delta-8 THC will contain 100mg of delta-8 THC. And inhalable delta-8 products have, generally in most legal states, been tested for mold, mildew, and other adulterants that you do not 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 discover totally untested and potentially contaminated types of delta-8. There's no way to learn whether the delta-8 potency advertised on the package is obviously contained in the product.
Although delta-8 THC is just a naturally occurring cannabinoid, the substance in the marketplace today is typically synthesized from CBD—and there's no quality control check into products produced beyond your state-licensed cannabis system.
Exploring a brand new high
Yet another thing to think about: the brand new 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 knowledgeable about delta-8 as we are with whole, natural cannabis, in accordance with Dr. Peter Grinspoon, a Harvard professor and physician who specializes in cannabis.
“We all know the harms of cannabis really well because, a) this has been around for 5,000 years, and b), the government spent $10 billion attempting to prove so it was harmful,” Grinspoon explained in a message to Leafly.
Delta-8 is in such a small proportion entirely plant cannabis, which has like 600 compounds inside and like 150 or so cannabinoids,” Grinspoon added, explaining these exist in very, very small quantities entirely cannabis. “So, because cannabis is rather safe—or relatively nontoxic—doesn't imply that all the components inside may also be fairly safe.
That's because individuals are now ingesting those individual components, like delta-8, in much bigger quantities than ever before.
A comparatively unknown cannabinoid
“We take a lot of liberties with this specific plant, you realize, turning it in to a vaporizable product or creating a hard-pressed tablet,” said Dr. Mary Clifton, a New York-based physician who specializes in cannabinoid medicine.
It's almost impossible to get clinical studies on the consequences of delta-8 THC. The only real known study was published nearly 50 years ago, in 1973. That research found intravenous delta-8 THC doses which range from 1mg to 6mg “produced an extensive spectrum of cannabis-like effects.” Which doesn't inform us 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 will be in alleviating nausea in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. That study began in 2006 but was abandoned just before completion.
Chemicals and contaminants
In states where cannabis is legal for adults, there are systems of strict rules and regulations governing who sells it and how and where it's sold.
Delta-8 THC surfaced in the marketplace in 2019 in a many different way—appearing on shelves in stores not licensed to offer cannabis. Oftentimes, it appeared alongside non-intoxicating CBD products, which are legal to offer with no cannabis license.
States have been grappling with how to deal with 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 just like the state's legal cannabis industry. New York's state health department recently banned the manufacture of delta-8 THC products derived from hemp. The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) recently announced that licensed delta-8 THC products must conform to state delta-9 THC regulations—nevertheless the LCB can't regulate cannabis products sold beyond your state-licensed system.
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