Delta-8 THC is sold in gummies, vapes and drinks that carry the word hemp on the front of the package, and the FDA warns the word does not mean what most buyers assume. These products are intoxicating, the delta-8 in them is typically made in a lab from CBD rather than pulled out of the plant, and the agency has flagged packaging that appeals to children. Poison control centers have logged thousands of delta-8 exposure cases, and most of the unintentional ones were in children.
Key takeaways
- Poison control centers logged 2,362 delta-8 exposure cases between January 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, and patients under 18 made up 41% of them.
- 55% of the adverse event reports the FDA received required medical intervention or hospital admission.
- Concentrated delta-8 is typically synthesized from hemp-derived CBD, and the FDA warns that some manufacturers use potentially unsafe household chemicals to do it.
Dr. Kumar’s take
The marketing sells a product most buyers do not understand. Delta-8 THC exists in the cannabis plant, but not in useful amounts. The FDA states plainly that concentrated delta-8 is “typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol (CBD),” that “additional chemicals are needed to convert other cannabinoids in hemp, like CBD, into delta-8 THC,” and that “some manufacturers may use potentially unsafe household chemicals” in that synthesis, leaving “potentially harmful by-products (contaminants)” in the finished product.
That is a chemistry problem sold as a wellness product. The word hemp on the label does the heavy lifting, and the FDA has said as much: these products “may be labeled simply as ‘hemp products,’ which may mislead consumers who associate ‘hemp’ with ’non-psychoactive.’”
The safety signal is not theoretical. National poison control centers logged 2,362 delta-8 exposure cases between January 1, 2021 and February 28, 2022, according to the FDA. Pediatric patients under 18 made up 41% of those cases, 40% of exposures were unintentional, and 82% of the unintentional ones were in children. One pediatric case was coded with a medical outcome of death.
Those numbers have real limits. They count calls to poison centers, not everyone who used one of these products, and a call is not the same as a serious injury. What they do capture is who is getting hold of these products, and that is the part worth acting on.
What it means for you
Treat any drink, gummy or vape sold as hemp-derived THC as an intoxicant, whatever the front of the package suggests, and assume the dose on the label is approximate. Keep these products locked away from children.
If someone who used one has hallucinations, vomiting, tremor, confusion or loss of consciousness, get them evaluated. The FDA lists all of those among reported adverse events, and 55% of the reports it received required medical intervention or hospital admission.
The FDA has not evaluated or approved these products for safe use in any context. No agency has verified the dose printed on the label or checked the finished product for the by-products left behind by the synthesis.