Delta-8

Excellent PowerPoint information updated in 2023. 

The language in farm bill has been interpreted to mean that any hemp-derived product with less than 0.3% THC in its final form is legal. Make a 70-gram brownie out of hemp containing just under 0.3% THC, and you get 21 times more THC than you can get in California’s regulated cannabis market. 
Furthermore, with some chemistry, innovative hemp manufacturers can create an alphabet soup of chemically synthesized cannabinoids that can get you high, like delta-8 THC, THC-P, and THC-O. The Drug Enforcement Administration has pushed back and classified two such compounds as dangerous Schedule I substances. Still, the regulations on synthetic cannabinoids made from compounds that naturally occur in hemp remain overwhelmingly unenforced.    

The bill that Robinson and Burton sponsored during the 2023 session originally would have limited the amount of THC (the main psychoactive compound in cannabis) in hemp products, but it faced a fierce pushback from members from the hemp industry as well as regular Floridians who say they rely on the product to deal with physical pain.

For example, in the House, the bill set THC limits not to exceed 5 milligrams per serving or 50 milligrams per package and prohibit those products to anyone under the age of 21. Ultimately, the bill sponsors removed the provision that would limit the THC amounts.

“We just ran out of time,” Robinson told the Phoenix on Wednesday. “We had to get it through the final committee hearing [and] we had 80 percent of the bill that everyone ...

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Today, Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced the results of “Operation Kandy Krush,” the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ largest ever inspection sweep of food establishments selling products that contain hemp extracts. The week-long statewide inspection sweep targeted the illegal sale of hemp extract products that are attractive and/or marketed to children, prohibited by Florida Law. The sweep included inspections of more 475 food establishments in 37 Florida counties and uncovered 68,689 packages of hemp extract products — including euphoric, high-potency THC products — targeting children.

DeLoach said a 12-year-old female student reportedly was passing out and exhibiting symptoms of an overdose. The principal told deputies the child might have taken THC gummies along with three other students who may have eaten some as well.

Dr. Roneet Lev- Years ago, she advocated against the overprescription of opioid painkillers like OxyContin. Now, she believes she’s seeing the same thing all over again: the specious claims of medical benefits, the denial of adverse effects. “From Big Tobacco to Big Pharma to Big Marijuana—it’s the same people, and the same pattern.”
Today, teenagers are “dabbing” a product that’s three, four, or five times stronger, (than 30 years ago) and are often doing so multiple times a day. At that level of potency, the impact of the drug on a user’s brain belongs to an entirely different category of risk than smoking a joint or taking a bong rip of even an intensively bred marijuana flower. It’s highly addictive, and over time, there’s a significant chance it can drive you insane.

"There is a gray area in state statue when it comes to these products. It's basically not being regulated," Johnson said at the Village Board meeting. "We are going to regulate it."

That provision reflects the state government’s position that consumer safety should override all other concerns in establishing laws to guide the hemp sector, sponsoring lawmakers said earlier.

A Virginia boy’s death last year was attributed to over-ingestion of delta-8 THC from eating gummies, leading to felony murder and felony child neglect charges against his mother. The death was officially ruled an accident attributable to “delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol toxicity” by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner Central District of Virginia, although some cannabis experts have cast doubt on that conclusion.

Key findings from the RDCOS March ‘23 issuance on novel and alternative cannabinoids include:

• There is significantly greater Delta-8 consumption in states where cannabis remains illegal than in states with adult-use cannabis markets.
• Past month consumption of Delta-8, Delta-8 THCO, Delta-10, THCP, THCV, CBN, and HHC each are associated with a greater prevalence of driving under the influence of cannabis (DUIC) and the severity of problematic cannabis use.
• Delta-8 consumption by past-year cannabis consumers has increased by 10% since December 2022.
• THCV, a cannabinoid commonly branded as “diet weed,” is the most popular alternative cannabinoid among past-year cannabis consumers.
• A total of 23% of 16–20-year-olds who consumed cannabis in the past year reported consuming Delta-8 at least monthly.

The Georgia Supreme Court has cleared the way for Gwinnett County to resume raids, arrests and prosecutions to stop the sale of cannabis-derived products Delta-8 and Delta-10.
Cannabis-derived products containing very low THC amounts are broadly considered legal in Georgia and are widely available at shops around the state.
So when Gwinnett County cracked down on the products last year, shop owner Jennifer Byrd said her business was threatened and she took the county’s district attorney to court.

Article from pro-marijuana:
The issue is legislation in Florida that would limit how much THC such products are allowed to contain. Everyone, of course, is not going out of business, though Boyce’s company is at risk. The hemp industry will live on. Boyce’s note blamed the proposed legislation on “certain politicians” who are “heavily invested in the medical marijuana industry.”

This kind of thing is why licensed cannabis companies in legal states are increasingly disgusted by gray-market alt-THC peddlers. It’s not just the competition they face (after all, the hemp-derived products are aimed mostly at people in states where cannabis is still illegal). It’s also that fly-by-night operators tend to make the whole industry look bad, whether they’re selling iffy THC products or CBD gummies and oils that haven’t been tested and in some cases contain little or no CBD.

One relatively simple act could solve all these problems in one fell swoop: legalizing cannabis at the federal level.

Introduction: Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a known isomer of delta-9-THC, both found naturally in the Cannabis sativa plant and thought to have similar potency. Delta-8-THC products are widely accessible in retail shops which may lead to a rise in pediatric exposures with substantial clinical effects.

The message includes a video of Death by Gummy Bears, which according to the manufacturer's website does contain Delta 8-THC. The gummy has 100mg of THC per gummy.
The message notes that five students from a metro area school consumed anywhere from half a gummy bear to two full gummy bears. Two of the students who ate two full gummy bears were sent to the ER. Common symptoms from all five of the students include high heart rates, anxiety, nausea, and severe paranoia.

A Virginia mom is facing murder charges in connection with the death of her 4-year-old son, police say. 
Dorothy Annette Clements, 30, was indicted Monday by a Spotsylvania County Grand Jury for the death of her son. 
Clements’ son died on May 8, 2022, after suffering a medical emergency two days before, at a home in the 5400 block of Jamie Court, the Spotsylvania Sheriff’s Office said. 
Major Troy Skebo could only say that the gummies contained “delta-8 THC,” which, according to the FDA, is one of more than 100 cannabinoids produced naturally by the cannabis plant but is not found in significant amounts in the cannabis plant. 

Starting this Friday, July 1, all Oregon businesses—including gas stations and grocery stores—will be prohibited from selling any and all “artificially derived cannabinoids.” That means not just heavy hitters like delta-8 and THC-O, but non-psychoactive compounds like cannabinol (CBN) as well. 

Although a dozen states have moved to ban delta-8 and other hemp-derived cannabinoids that act similarly to THC, Oregon will be the first state to ban all artificially derived cannabinoids.

CONCLUSIONS The prevalence of delta-8 THC-containing products in the illicit drug market is increasing rapidly. Delta-8 THC products are now available in gas stations and in headshops. The clinical presentation of delta-8 THC exposure is similar to known effects of delta-9 THC exposure. These similarities limit the clinicians' abilities to determine the specific substance ingested. Symptomatic and supportive care remains an effective treatment for cannabinoid toxicity.

A new Minnesota law that took effect last week is intended to prohibit the sale of products containing high amounts of delta-8 THC but also has established a relatively high limit for total THC in hemp foods.

The measure, signed by Gov. Tim Walz in May, and which went into force Friday, July 1, allows adults 21 and over to possess and consume hemp-based edibles and beverages that contain up to five milligrams of total combined THC – such as delta-9, delta-8 and delta-10 – per serving, with individual packages limited to 50mg.

Like CBD, delta-8 (delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol) is just one of more than 100 chemical compounds found in the cannabis sativa plant. Most people are familiar with THC (delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol), the main psychoactive compound in cannabis that gives you a euphoric high.
The 2018 Farm Bill legalized the production and sale of CBD products (which don’t get you high) on the federal level in the U.S. as long as they contain less than .3% of THC. In theory, this would allow federal legalization of CBD products with delta-8 under those same guidelines, but doctors, like internal medicine specialist Paul Terpeluk, DO, are expressing concerns about delta-8 products because delta-8 is psychoactive and produces same or similar highs as THC.

BEWARE OF CAWFEE  (Coffee with thc).  Some of these products are over 1000mg THC.  Highly dangerous. 

Delta-8 products are marketed as though it was candy, cereal, or vitamins sold in child/family friendly packaging.  
Ellen Snelling, a board member of the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance, has been wanting commissioners to act.
"It’s completely unregulated, fruit flavors, gummy bears. Bright colors attracted to children all allowed in the state of Florida. If this was laying on your dining room table a child would eat the entire package," she told commissioners at a previous meeting.  

TAMPA, Fla. — Products from cake pops to candy containing a chemical compound called Delta 8 are being sold legally in Florida without a prescription and with the goal of getting people high.
The I-Team has uncovered these products have caused hospitalizations and at least one death, sparking calls in Hillsborough County for better regulation of these products.

“It’s candy with drugs in it sold in your convenience store,” said Ellen Snelling, who chairs the Hillsborough County Anti-Drug Alliance.
She recently took packages of candy that looked like popular brands, including Skittles, Nerds and gummy bears.

Delta-8 THC (or Delta-8-tetrahydrocannabinol) is a naturally occurring chemical compound called a cannabinoid that’s found in small traces in hemp and cannabis (marijuana) plants. Its popularity is on the rise, and you can find it everywhere from boutique weed dispensaries to convenience store shelves.
 

Another reason for Delta-8’s growing popularity is that, unlike heavily regulated THC, Delta-8 is legal to use in most states. That’s because it’s extracted mostly from hemp-derived CBD, which is legal to farm across the U.S.

But Delta-8 sits in a legal gray area. Hemp’s legality stems from the so-called federal farm bill (the Agriculture and Nutrition Improvement Act of 2018), which removed hemp and its byproducts from the list of controlled substances. The reason: Hemp’s low THC levels (less than 0.3%). The bill doesn’t mention Delta-8 anywhere. Hemp advocates and others who sell it have used this loophole to legally market Delta-8 products, usually with no age restrictions. As a result, it’s now the fastest growing product from the hemp industry.