Delta-8 THC: The New Cannabinoid That's Legal but Risky

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As an addiction psychiatrist who has worked in the field for years, I’m still occasionally shocked by the “ingenuity” of people who manufacture, market, and sell street drugs. These folks think nothing of exploiting loopholes in our drug regulatory apparatus to sell to an eager public—including children.

The marketing and selling of the psychoactive substance delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol, or delta-8 THC, is a recent example of this behavior.

Delta-8 THC Explained

The substance is found naturally in small amounts in the Cannabis sativa plant (marijuana and hemp are two varieties of Cannabis sativa). To produce larger and more concentrated amounts of delta-8 THC to sell to the public, it can be synthetically created from hemp and cannabidiol (CBD) in a lab.

This concentrated delta-8 THC then gets added to products, such as gummies, brownies, vapes, and tinctures that are sold online and in head shops, gas stations, convenience stores, and other retail locations.

Some studies suggest that delta-8 THC may help some people with anxiety, stress, depression, and chronic pain. Users say it can provide a euphoric high, like weed and other marijuana products, but without the paranoid feelings, those products sometimes cause. Essentially, delta-8 THC is promoted as a healthier, less addictive alternative to delta-9 THC, which is traditional marijuana.

Problem With Delta-8 THC

Here’s the problem with that thinking though: delta-8 THC products are not regulated by the FDA, so you do not know their strength level, nor do you know what other toxic additives are in them (several culprits are out there). Therefore, when they’re sold at retail locations, there is zero accountability regarding product monitoring or labeling.

This means people can easily take in an intoxicating dose, for example, then drive in a highly impaired state. Or they go to work or school impaired. Over time, these high-concentration products can get people addicted as well, with all the tragic personal, social, and economic consequences that come with that.

Breaking News: Cease and Desist Letters Just Went Out

Back to the reprehensible marketing and selling I mentioned earlier. Turns out several manufacturers of delta-8 THC products recently got notices from the FDA and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to immediately stop selling their edible products in packaging that is nearly identical to the packaging of foods that children eat. Foods like Doritos, Nerds candy, Cheetos, and gummies.

As an FTC administrator wrote about the cease and desist orders: “Marketing edible THC products that can be easily mistaken by children for regular foods is reckless and illegal.”

Revisiting the Very Real Risks of Marijuana

The irony of the public alarm over delta-8 THC is that in some ways it makes weed and other marijuana products look good in comparison. Why? Because marijuana tends to be more regulated now, therefore you have a better idea of what’s in the product.

However, as I wrote on this website two years ago (see: 7 Key Things To Know About Weed), marijuana can be dangerous and addictive in all its forms, especially for young adults under 25 whose brains are still developing.

Here’s a quick recap of the dangers of marijuana:

• It can be a gateway drug. In the addiction treatment field where I work, we see a lot of teens with cannabis use disorder (CUD). They often get addicted to vaping these substances in more concentrated form. Weed use can then prime the brain for a more heightened response to hard drugs, thus acting as a gateway drug. I’ve no doubt delta-8 THC would have this same gateway effect.

• It’s much more powerful than it used to be. A National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) report stated that in the 1990s, marijuana’s average THC concentration (THC is the part that gets you high) was about 4 percent. By 2018, the average THC concentration in the U.S. nearly quadrupled to more than 15 percent. This higher concentration makes weed more addictive.

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• It’s risky for kids. According to that same NIDA report, people who begin using marijuana regularly before age 18 are four to seven times more likely to develop CUD than those who start as adults.

Final thoughts

It’s important to know that delta-8 THC and marijuana can land you in legal and career trouble despite these products being available over the counter in many states. According to a recent nationwide Quest Diagnostics report, more American workers tested positive for marijuana in 2022 than in any of the previous 25 years.

That’s likely due to the increasing number of states where it’s legal, but where I work, we see the increasing use of delta-8 THC adding to those positive tests.

Regardless of whether the above-mentioned forms of THC/marijuana are legal, a positive test at work is never a good thing for your career. Add it to the many other risks associated with delta-8 THC.