The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have issued warnings about delta-8 THC after it emerged more than 100 people in the US have been hospitalised this year having consumed products containing the cannabinoid.
MJBizDaily reports the figure includes paediatric intensive care unit admissions, and were among more than 600 calls to local poison control centres, according to the FDA.
The FDA warned: “It is important for consumers to be aware that delta-8 THC products have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any context. They may be marketed in ways that put the public health at risk and should especially be kept out of reach of children and pets.”
Meanwhile, the CDC issued its own public health alert, warning products are often mislabelled.
It said: “The rise in delta-8 THC products in marijuana and hemp marketplaces has increased the availability of psychoactive cannabis products, even in states where non-medical adult cannabis use is not permitted under law.”
No products were named in the warnings and no fatalities have been reported.
Delta-8 THC is an isomer of delta-9 THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid that occurs naturally in the cannabis plant.
Although rare, it can be easily synthesised from CBD, giving rise to products that offer intoxicating effects without needing to be sourced from marijuana, which remains illegal in some US states and federally.