{"id":10685,"date":"2022-12-08T03:42:18","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T03:42:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimatehealthreport.com\/delta-8-delta-10-hhc-thco-a-pandoras-box-of-unregulated-cannabinoids\/"},"modified":"2022-12-08T03:42:18","modified_gmt":"2022-12-08T03:42:18","slug":"delta-8-delta-10-hhc-thco-a-pandoras-box-of-unregulated-cannabinoids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimatehealthreport.com\/delta-8-delta-10-hhc-thco-a-pandoras-box-of-unregulated-cannabinoids\/","title":{"rendered":"Delta-8, Delta-10, HHC, THCO… A Pandora’s Box of Unregulated Cannabinoids"},"content":{"rendered":"


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The legalization of hemp-derived cannabinoids by the 2018 Farm Bill has created a yawning regulatory gap that is being avidly exploited by purveyors of sketchy vape products and high-potency edibles.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the contention of a \u201cwhite paper\u201d report recently issued by the California Cannabis Industry Association (CCIA<\/span>), a leading cannabis industry trade organization, which warned that the poorly written law inadvertently opened a \u201cPandora\u2019s box\u201d of unregulated intoxicating compounds that threaten public health. At issue are psychoactive cannabinoids other than cannabis-derived Delta-9 THC<\/span>.<\/p>\n

It was legalizing cannabidiol (CBD<\/span>), a non-intoxicating compound with many salubrious properties, that lawmakers had in mind when they crafted the Farm Bill. But other intoxicating cannabinoids ostensibly derived from hemp \u2014 including Delta-8 THC<\/span> and several potent synthetic THC<\/span> analogs that don\u2019t exist in nature \u2014 are being openly sold coast to coast without regulatory oversight, according to the white paper, which was written by CCIA<\/span> vice president Tiffany Devitt.<\/p>\n

Entitled \u201cPandora\u2019s Box: The Dangers of a National, Unregulated, Hemp-Derived Intoxicating Cannabinoid Market,\u201d it states: \u201cRife with contaminants and chemical byproducts, many of these so-called hemp THC<\/span> and THC<\/span>-like products are sold online and in convenience stores, gas stations, and smoke shops without age-gates, testing standards, packaging and labeling requirements, marketing limitations, or even a proper understanding of their potential effects on consumers. It\u2019s a public health disaster.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did the Ninth Circuit Get It Wrong \u2014 Or Did Congress?<\/h2>\n

Devitt warns that the loopholes in the 2018 Farm Bill were legitimized by a recent ruling of the US<\/span> Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, which has \u201cunleashed a Wild West of intoxicants.\u201d<\/p>\n

On May 19, 2022, a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit rejected arguments that Delta-8 products that are chemically synthesized from hemp-derived CBD<\/span> fall outside the scope of the Farm Bill. In AK<\/span> Futures LLC<\/span> v. Boyd St. Distro, LLC<\/span><\/em>, the panel upheld a Southern California district court\u2019s grant of a preliminary injunction in favor of AK<\/span> Futures, a producer of vaping products, in a trademark infringement action against rival Boyd Street Distro. The Ninth Circuit rejected Boyd\u2019s contention that AK<\/span> Futures could not hold a valid trademark for its products because federal law forbids possession and sale of Delta-8 THC<\/span>.<\/p>\n

Stated the decision: \u201cRegardless of the wisdom of legalizing delta-8 THC<\/span> products, this Court will not substitute its own policy judgment for that of Congress. If Boyd Street is correct, and Congress inadvertently created a loophole legalizing vaping products containing delta-8 THC<\/span>, then it is for Congress to fix its mistake.\u201d<\/p>\n

The decision added: \u201c[T]he source of the product \u2014 not the method of manufacture \u2014 is the dispositive factor for ascertaining whether a product is synthetic.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ninth Circuit also found that \u201cthe only statutory metric for distinguishing controlled marijuana from legal hemp is the delta-9 THC<\/span> concentration level.\u201d That\u2019s a reference to the 0.3% Delta-9 THC<\/span> standard established as a maximum for legal hemp under the Farm Bill.<\/p>\n

In her white paper, Devitt suggests that the Ninth Circuit erred, stating that the ruling is \u201cat odds with other federal statutes such as the Federal Analogue Act, which explicitly prohibits THC<\/span> analogs. Approval of novel cannabinoids \u2026 rightfully falls under the purview of the US<\/span> Food and Drug Administration.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devitt agrees with the Ninth Circuit panel that further Congressional action is mandated. She writes: \u201cAll plants grown for cannabinoid content should be subject to a similar set of regulations rather than an arbitrary, unworkable THC<\/span> threshold. Absent a single federally regulated cannabinoid market that oversees both hemp and cannabis, the 2018 Farm Bill urgently needs to be amended to close the loophole allowing the unregulated sale of concentrated, intoxicating, and\/or synthesized cannabinoids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Devitt adds: \u201cThe ultimate solution is a single, federally regulatory framework that oversees both hemp- and cannabis-derived cannabinoid products for human consumption.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Safety Concerns<\/h2>\n

Several peer-reviewed studies and cannabis industry scientists lend credence to the concerns expressed in the CCIA<\/span> white paper. A few examples:<\/p>\n

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  • An October 2022 report by University of Missouri researchers found \u201cseveral impurities in concentrations far beyond what is declared on certificates of analysis\u201d for ten popular Delta-8 THC<\/span> products.<\/li>\n
  • Also in October 2022, the journal Cannabis &<\/span> Cannabinoid Research<\/em> published a report entitled \u201cThe Dark Side of Cannabidiol,\u201d which saw a link between the free-for-all atmosphere and cases of E-cigarette or Vaping Use-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI<\/span>). It concluded: \u201cQuality control is totally inadequate in the newly emerging \u03948<\/span>–THC<\/span> industry. American consumers are ingesting products that are mislabeled with many compounds that have never received any toxicological testing. EVALI<\/span> cases continue to be reported with a fatality rate approaching 2% (in California).\u201d<\/li>\n
  • A recent study published by PL<\/span>oS One<\/em>, entitled \u201cThe inverse association of state cannabis vaping prevalence with the e-cigarette or vaping product-use associated lung injury,\u201d found that the vaping crisis was worse in states without legal cannabis use. This speaks to the fact that safety issues are worse where legal cannabis isn\u2019t available and intoxicating hemp products are prevalent.<\/li>\n
  • And a January 2022 study in Chemical Research in Toxicology<\/em>, published by the American Chemical Society, was entitled \u201cNovel \u03948<\/span>-Tetrahydrocannabinol Vaporizers Contain Unlabeled Adulterants, Unintended Byproducts of Chemical Synthesis, and Heavy Metals.\u201d The title speaks for itself.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n