Delta-8 THC, the synthetic cousin of the Delta-9 strain that gives marijuana its psychoactive high, has become easily accessible to children online.
The oil obtained from hemp is available in vape and edible versions, with manufacturers following the marketing strategies of the e-cigarette industry and making the product attractive to children.
Researchers from New York searched dozens of websites selling legal Delta-8 products and found that almost all failed to properly verify buyers’ ages, kept prices so low that even a weekly subsidy could cover it, and specifically aimed at attracting young people with vibrant, cartoon-like packaging.
Delta-8 products contain a gentler alternative to the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) found in marijuana, which users say gives a more relaxing high without paranoia or anxiety. Some now refer to it as “diet weed.”
But whether the hemp-derived chemical is harmless has been debated for years, with thousands of calls made to poison control centers about delta-8 each year. And the lack of regulation of its production and sale to children is the biggest concern for health experts.
Delta-8 products are often packaged to catch the eye, particularly among impressionable young people who may not be fully aware of what they are consuming
Similar to the packaging of nicotine vapes and e-cigarettes, Delta-8 vapes are colorful and have catchy names
About a decade ago, a stroll past smoke shops and convenience stores would reveal huge displays of colorful nicotine vapes, packaged in packages featuring cartoon characters or Technicolor depictions of fruits and candies.
Ten years later, the displays look similar, but the products have changed. Delta 8 vape pens and edibles are routinely packaged in colorful bags and boxes with eye-catching names like Caviar, Cake and Cloud8.
Its legal status is also attractive to consumers and business owners in states where marijuana is not fully decriminalized, allowing them to offer shelves full of e-cigarettes, gummies and more without breaking any laws.
Online marketplaces are no different. Researchers at Hofstra University found that of 45 Delta 8 retail websites, more than half sold their products in child-friendly packaging.
Dr. Ruth Milanaik, a pediatrician and professor at Hofstra who led the study, said: “What concerns me most about Delta-8 products is the fact that Delta-8 dealers appear to be in competition with each other when it comes to Delta-8 products “It’s about making packaging that makes this possible.” to attract young people’s attention.
“It is important that more regulations are put in place to ensure these products are not attractive to young people.”
The researchers also found that only 29 of the 45 websites asked customers to confirm their age before browsing. Almost all of the sites, 43 in total, lacked formal age verification measures provided by third parties, which were typically separate companies seeking to help companies comply with age-related retail requirements.
Almost all websites sold edible and vape products, while slightly less than half of the websites marketed delta-8 tinctures, blends of delta-8 oil extracted from the cannabis plant and diluted with another oil, such as hemp seed oil and is dripped under the tongue.
Most of the products sold on these websites are temptingly cheap.
The cheapest products from fifteen websites cost less than $5, and almost all of them sold Delta-8 for under $20.
And online sellers have been pumping up the cheapest products with the highest concentrations of delta-8 THC.
Of the cheapest products on each site, four contained up to 30 mg of D8 and one contained between 31 and 40 mg.
Ten of the cheapest products contained 41 to 50 mg of D8 and 21 of those contained 51 or more milligrams of D8.
Nine of them gave no dosage at all.
The researchers said: “The lack of age verification before allowing users to purchase D8 products is extremely concerning.”
“The low prices, high dosages available and eye-catching packaging make these products extremely attractive to teens looking for a high.”
The free-for-all legal situation has led to thousands of calls to poison control centers.
From January 1, 2021 to February 28, 2022, there were more than 2,300 calls to poison control centers regarding exposure to delta-8.
The majority of these calls involved adults, but 41 percent involved minors.
Forty percent of the calls involved unintentional exposure, such as accidentally ingesting the drug. Of these 40 percent, more than eight out of ten children were affected.
The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers about delta-8, which falls outside the regulator’s purview, meaning manufacturers can get away with impunity by producing products containing other synthetic chemicals or even the federally illegal delta-9 THC -variety to adulterate.
There is little more the FDA can do because delta-8 is not a criminalized substance under the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp.
Hemp comes from the cannabis plant, just like marijuana, which millions of people enjoy recreationally or for therapeutic reasons. But unlike marijuana, hemp does not produce delta-9-THC.
The bill stipulated that hemp could be grown legally as long as its THC content remained below 0.3 percent.
Lawmakers specifically defined THC as the Delta-9 variety, which remains illegal federally, and did not address its quieter cousin Delta-8, which is derived from hemp-derived CBD.