Delta-8 THC is a newly popular way to get high, since it’s legal in many places where regular cannabis isn’t. But just because it has slipped through a legal loophole doesn’t mean it’s perfectly safe, and recently the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned consumers and health providers about some potential downsides.
What is delta-8?
Cannabis contains a variety of naturally occurring chemicals that have effects on our brains and bodies. The best known is tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. That’s considered to be the main source of weed’s high. Technically most THC that we care about is known chemically as delta-9 THC, and federal regulations apply to cannabis plants that have a certain percentage of delta-9.
Another of these natural chemicals is cannabidiol (CBD), which you’ve probably noticed is everywhere since the 2018 Farm Bill allowed cannabis plants with less than 0.3% THC to be sold legally. This means that if you start with low-delta-9-THC hemp plants rather than high-delta-9-THC marijuana, you can make just about anything you like and sell it legally. This led to the boom in CBD products, which are made from these low-THC plants.
Somewhere along the line, some genius figured out that you could process hemp plants to create delta-8 THC. This isn’t prohibited by federal law, but it can still make you high. There’s more info on this in our guide to enjoying delta-8 responsibly, but basically, in most states you can easily buy delta-8 products over the counter or order them online. You’ll often find them in CBD shops, since they owe their availability to the same legal loophole.
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What’s wrong with it, then?
The FDA’s and CDC’s recent warnings don’t include anything too dire about delta-8 itself, but we’ll get into the specifics in a minute. What’s important to know first is that delta-8 is still THC, and it seems to have similar risks and benefits as normal (delta-9) THC.
In other words, it can get you high, and if you take too much, you could get the symptoms of “greening out” including being nauseous, lethargic, and uncoordinated. THC can also affect your heart rate and blood pressure, making it a health concern even though overdoses are unlikely to ever be fatal.
Once you understand that, there are two main issues that the FDA and CDC are worried about.
People don’t always realize they’re taking THC
Since delta-8 is often sold alongside CBD products, it may be easy to miss the fact that you’re buying something that can get you high. Not everybody knows what delta-8 is, and those who are being introduced to it for the first time might hear it being called a cutesy nickname like “diet weed” or they might hear a sales pitch downplaying the similarities between delta-8 and normal weed.
The…
Read More: Is Delta-8 THC Safe?