A molecular lookalike of the intoxicating compound found in marijuana has become popular among teens in the United States, especially in areas where marijuana use is illegal, a new study shows.
More than 11% of high school students who took a national survey last spring said they had taken advantage delta-8THCa psychoactive substance typically extracted from hemp, in the past year.
That figure surprised researchers at USC and the University of Michigan, who published their findings this week Journal of the American Medical Assn.
Products containing delta-8 “have actually only been on the market since 2018,” says research leader Alyssa Harlowa USC epidemiologist and faculty member of the school Institute for Addiction Sciences.
Gummies, vapes and other products containing delta-8 are available online, at gas stations and convenience stores. They are often marketed as a federally legal alternative to marijuana – and often are without robust age verification measures.
“We don't know enough about these drugs, but we see that they are already extremely accessible to teenagers,” he says Dr. Nora Volkowdirector of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which funded the research. “Cannabis use in general is associated with negative effects on the adolescent brain.”
Delta-8 is a lot like delta-9 THC – the most common molecule in cannabis that makes people feel high – but has a slightly different structure, with a double bond between a different set of carbon atoms. Although both occur naturally in cannabis, delta-8 is less abundant.
In a 2021 studydelta-8 users reported that it had, on average, less intense effects than delta-9. But the Food and Drug Administration did warned consumers that it has not evaluated the safety of delta-8 products. Chemicals used to convert hemp cannabinoids into delta-8 may contain harmful contaminants, the agency warned.
Products containing delta-8 have skyrocketed in popularity after 2018 approval of an agricultural law That relaxed federal restrictions on hemp and created a legal loophole for the compound.
The Agriculture Improvement Act allowed for the broader production of hemp, “which is cannabis that contains only a very small amount of delta-9 THC,” according to Ziva Cooper, director of the UCLA Center for Cannabis and Cannabinoids. That opened the door for people to extract chemical compounds from hemp, such as CBD, and convert them into other substances that can cause intoxicating effects, she said.
As a result, “delta-8 THC now appears to be legal because it is not specifically banned,” Cooper said. However, another federal law restricts a broader category of compounds that includes delta-8, she said, making things “very, very confusing.”
Some states have restricted or banned delta-8. But from November onwards the National Cannabis Industry Assn. described it as “de facto legal” in almost half the states.
The new findings about the use of delta-8 by teenagers come from the annual survey Monitoring the Future Researcha NIDA-funded project that asks American adolescents about drug and alcohol use.
Some used delta-8 quite often: Among high school students who said they had used it in the past year, more than a third said they had done so ten or more times in that period.
It's unclear whether delta-8 affects teens differently than other forms of THC, but “even if it is the same as other forms, we are not in favor of 13-, 14- and 15-year-olds using cannabis,” said Dr. Wilson M. Comptondeputy director of NIDA.
For teens, “we would be concerned about its impact on learning, memory and everyday brain function,” Compton said. “There are also concerns that its use is associated with the development of psychiatric conditions, particularly psychotic disorders, in those who use cannabis, especially at a young age.”
Harlow and her colleagues found that in states where marijuana use is illegal for adults, 14% of high school students said they had used delta-8 in the past year. However, in states where marijuana was legal for adults, 8% of high school students said they had used delta-8 in the past year.
There was no clear difference based on government policy when it came to marijuana use, with more than 30% of seniors overall saying they had used the drug in the past year. Of the teens who reported using delta-8, nearly 91% said they had also used marijuana.
The study also found that delta-8 use among teens was more common in states where the psychoactive substance was unregulated.
“To me, the alarm bells are going off because these products are being marketed with the claim that they are a completely legal alternative to marijuana, and they seem to be proliferating in areas where there is essentially no regulation,” Harlow said. That lack of oversight could mean no mandatory testing for possible contaminants is needed, she said.
“We don't necessarily know what's in the product you're using — and you don't know either,” Cooper said. “People aren't making sure there's quality control or accurate labeling. … That in itself should give pause to people thinking about experimentation.”
Other researchers have warned in the American Journal of Emergency Medicine that due to the lack of federal regulations, “products may be packaged in brightly colored containers with cartoon characters, sweet or fruity flavors, and candy-themed images that may be attractive to young children.”
In California, industrial hemp products containing chemically synthesized versions of THC — including delta-8 THC — are banned, according to the state's Department of Health. Products that cause illness or injury will be prioritized for investigation and enforcement, the department said in a statement.
But Dale Gieringerdirector of California NORMAL, an advocacy group focused on the rights of cannabis consumers, said “there is widespread disregard for state rules” and called enforcement efforts “virtually non-existent.” The result is “an enormous amount of delta-8 available through the Internet and convenience stores.”
California's Department of Cannabis Control said in a statement that it was concerned about the ready availability of delta-8 products to youth and that the new study “reinforces the need to implement stricter controls on cannabis-derived intoxicants.”
Last year was the first time that a delta-8 question was included in the Monitoring the Future study, which was asked to more than 2,000 secondary school students. In the coming years, researchers plan to survey younger teens as well.
Compton said the numbers show that in a typical high school classroom, a handful of teenagers are likely using delta-8. In light of that, he said, “it is our duty to expand our research to understand the health implications.”
