Chromatogram on \u03948-THC<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
This lack of transparency and uncertainty is causing problems with more than just the consumer advocacy side of \u03948-THC.<\/p>\n
Testing labs across the country are having issues with \u03948-THC samples that are purported to be \u201cisolate\u201d or \u201cpure \u03948\u201d, but have drastically elevated levels, above current legal limits, of \u03949-THC.<\/p>\n
Current theories to the cause of this disconnect include factors such as the stability and accuracy of manufacturing processes, proper treatment and preparation of samples, the accuracy of testing methods, the proper testing equipment to use, the stability of \u03948-THC with current manufacturing processes and storage conditions, as well as the ever-present problem of the hemp and cannabis industry; unscrupulous, unethical, or unknowledgeable businesses.<\/p>\n
The Industry Today<\/h2>\n Initial studies from the 70s have suggested \u03948-THC has the capacity to reduce tumor size in mice and in the 80s, it was determined to be a slightly less effective bronchodilator than the more \u201cinfamous\u201d cannabinoid and closely related isomer, \u03949-THC. While cannabinoid research in the US has never been copious, starting in the late 80\u2019s US research on cannabinoids all but halted.<\/p>\n
This led to most research to be performed in other countries, particularly Israel. In the 90s, Israeli researchers found evidence that \u03948-THC helped decrease the symptoms of nausea in pediatric cancer patients.<\/p>\n
By the 2000s, other studies linked it to possible increases in appetite as well as having an effect on key neurotransmitters. Outside of these few limited studies, that were never broadly disseminated and mostly only focused on mouse models, no one really cared about such a minor cannabinoid.
Any research that was performed focused on the much more well-known \u03949-THC\/THCA. Any mention of \u03948-THC was relegated to obscure passages on internet forums such as Erowid or rumors that passed like oral traditions in the secret tribes of stoners.<\/p>\n
Even after medical marijuana policies and laws were passed by California, later joined by Colorado, Washington, Oregon, and others, this minor cannabinoid remained in obscurity.<\/p>\n
Things changed with the passing of the 2018 Farm Bill, and with it, hemp production in the U.S. country exploded. This increase in cannabis cultivation across the country began a new renaissance into the exploration of the effects of the lesser-known cannabinoids as growers, processors, and consumers all began \u201cchasing cannabinoids\u201d in the hopes of finding the \u201cnext CBD\u201d.<\/p>\n
As the market became flooded with CBD products of all kinds and prices began to drop due to the oversupply some people began to convert their excess CBD into \u03948-THC which still mostly unknown and selling at 10 or more times what CBD could be sold for. Since \u03948-THC is not technically mentioned in the controlled substances act but has been historically included in it by the DEA, these entrepreneurs were counting on a technical reading of the 2018 Farm Bill.
As this \u03948-THC was derived from now legal hemp, it was seen as a way to get a euphoric high without violating Federal law. But is it in fact legal? The DEA has held a particular position on this, which was most recently clarified in the publication of their Interim Final Rules for Hemp where it states that \u201csynthetic cannabinoids\u201d are also considered to be marijuana and are controlled substances.<\/p>\n
This means that according to the DEA and US law enforcement, \u03948-THC is still a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance, and as such, is not legal in any way in the United States.<\/p>\n
This is where all the confusion started. Who has ruling or legislative authority over this? Does the 2018 Farm Bill supersede the Controlled Substances Act?<\/p>\n
What constitutes \u201cderived\u201d vs \u201csynthesized\u201d as a legal definition? Attorneys, CEOs, journalists, analysts, \u201cAverage Joes\u201d and \u201cKarens\u201d from Facebook have all weighed in with their opinion, but to date no one has brought any of these \u201ctheories\u201d before the court and until then current precedent would most likely stand with the DEA\u2019s ruling. As of late spring 2021, many states have begun banning \u03948-THC entirely rather than deal with the confusion.<\/p>\n
Others have simply absorbed it into their current medical or recreational cannabis infrastructure by relegating it to licensed cannabis facilities under medicinal or adult-use laws. The inability or unwillingness of the government to address the issue at the federal level has the same effect as current cannabis regulations be it hemp or marijuana.
Regulation varies drastically from state to state and creates an uneven playing field ripe for confusion, shady practices, illicit markets and potentially unsafe or at best mislabeled products.<\/p>\n
For example, in Florida, you can go buy \u03948-THC products at most any roadside gas station, and since it\u2019s being produced under the current patchwork of hemp cultivation laws, the only safety compliance or quality control testing requirements are that it contains less than 0.3% \u03949-THC.<\/p>\n
This is compared to the state of Kentucky, which has completely banned \u03948-THC in all forms.<\/p>\n
So, is this the beginning of the end for \u03948-THC? That\u2019s not very likely. Any number of factors would lead to the conclusion that \u03948-THC and other isomers are likely here to stay but will probably be regulated.<\/p>\n
Deschedulization of THC seems like more and more of a fast-approaching reality, rather than the distant pipe dream it has been for decades. The DEA is currently in the process of expanding access to marijuana for more research.<\/p>\n
As more cannabinoids are researched and more clinical data is available, more isomers like \u03948-THC will likely be utilized. Considering that more states are enacting regulations that require safety testing for hemp and CBD products, it is far more likely that \u03948-THC will see similar regulation and continue to be produced and sold, even though it is recognized as a psychoactive compound.<\/p>\n
That being said, the current flood of \u03948-THC products on the market very well could be a fad that has been fed by the recent price collapse of the CBD market that has thousands of growers, processors, and manufacturers of CBD trying to use up their back inventory of CBD and try to get a better price for it as \u03948-THC.<\/p>\n
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