Opponents of both medical and recreational marijuana use have long worried that opening states up to medical cannabis would subsequently open the floodgates to all sorts of products about which we know very little. Some of their concerns are finally starting to come to fruition, thanks to the legalization of medical cannabis in thirty-six states and adult use in eighteen. As a result, it is reasonable to ask whether it’s time to start regulating all forms of THC.
Little research was done into the cannabis plant prior to establishing the medical market. But even now, with that market solidly trenched, research is still limited. That has not stopped manufacturers from looking into new ways to make CBD and THC products. This has people worried. Why? Because right now, just about anything is on the table.
THC Is a Psychoactive Drug
THC has been illegal under federal law since the 1970s. It is considered a Schedule I controlled substance because federal officials believe it has a high potential for dependency and very little medical value. Both of those assertions have been challenged for years. In fact, states with active medical cannabis programs disagree with federal law in terms of THC’s medical potential.
All of that notwithstanding, federal law only regulates one form of THC: Delta-9 THC. Any cannabis-derived product that contains more than 0.3% Delta-9 THC by volume is illegal by Washington standards. Yet federal law offers a loophole inasmuch as it doesn’t regulate any other form of THC. Therein lies the problem.
One of the hottest things in the cannabis community right now is a Delta-9 isomer known as Delta-8 THC. It is considered an isomer because it contains the exact same molecules at Delta-9. It is just that those molecules are arranged differently.
It Is Still Psychoactive
What makes Delta-8 THC so problematic is that it still psychoactive. Its effects on the brain are different compared to Delta-9, but they are very real, nonetheless. Users have complained of everything from tunnel vision to nausea and vomiting after using the drug. Delta-8 is not something users should take lightly.
Where a consumer buys the drug also matters. A medical cannabis patient could walk into the Beehive Farmacy cannabis dispensary in Salt Lake City and know exactly what they are buying. Products must be thoroughly tested, certified, and labeled before they can be put on pharmacy shelves.
Likewise, that same patient could go to a local Salt Lake City smoke shop and buy a CBD product that contains Delta-8. Will he know what he has purchased? Maybe, but maybe not. Moreover, he could suffer unexpected and adverse effects from using Delta-8.
Delta-8 Just the Beginning
Utah is just one state grappling with the Delta-8 problem. Both pro-and anti-medical cannabis advocates are asking the same question: where will it end? No one knows. If all forms of THC are not tightly regulated, Delta-8 could be just the beginning. Already, manufacturers are working on Delta-10, TCH-O and other derivatives.
We just do not know enough about these other forms of THC to assume they are safe. We also don’t know enough about manufacturing methods to declare them safe. For example, it has been said that Delta-8 is produced in a lab by mixing Delta-9 and bleach. If that’s true, is it dangerous?
Unfortunately, a convoluted approach to medical and recreational marijuana use has opened the floodgates to a market that is now on the verge of being out of control. Do we need more THC regulation to take control back? That is something we have to decide, and pretty quickly.
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