Intoxicating Hemp: Industry Misinformation – Medcan24

The rope is not the dope.

Early activists urged Americans to give the versatile, incredibly useful hemp plant its due place in industrial production. This slogan was used to describe the difference between cannabis and hemp a few years ago. Up until recent times, hemp was a low-resin and non-intoxicating Cannabis Sativa L The term “cannabis”, on the other hand, is usually used for plants grown to maximize resin and have medicinal or recreational benefits.

A distinction is no longer made between cannabis resin and hemp. There are many hemp-based products that have been marketed to intoxicate. Modern “hemp”, on the other hand, looks more like rope than dope, which is confusing for consumers and regulators.

As stakeholders wrestle with difficult issues such as THC potency and CBD effectiveness, product safety, it’s important to distinguish fact from fiction. Seven common hemp myths that are promoted by the industry.

The first fallacy is that 0.3 percent THC does not make you intoxicated.

Contrary popular belief, 0.3 percent THC is not equivalent to non-intoxicating amounts in the botanical hemp. Useful for edibles, beverages. THC has a strong psychoactive effect. Milligrams are used to measure a dose, and not grams. An amount of THC as high as 1,000mg per 12-ounce beverage can be achieved by a threshold of just 0.3 percent. For example, in a 12-ounce drink, 0.3 per cent translates to over 1,000mg THC.¹ One “hemp” gummy of normal size could contain 20mg THC. Comparatively, in California’s regulated cannabis market, the maximum THC allowed per edible serving is 10mg.

The second fallacy is: “Five mg of THC in a serving does not make you drunk.”

The U.S. Hemp Roundtable released a whitepaper in 2023.² Falsely asserting that 5 mg of THC per serving “is below the impairment threshold.” THC tolerance varies from person to person due to factors such as genetics, metabolism and tolerance. Delta-9-THC is converted into 11-HydroxyTHC when it passes through the liver and gastrointestinal tract. This can lead to a stronger high or adverse effects.³ Intoxication is induced by 5mg THC in most people. Even a few milligrams THC can cause psychoactivity in some people.

Fallacy # 3: “Delta-8-THC is less potent, and hence less risky, than delta-9-THC.”

Delta-8, an isomer naturally found of delta-9, has a lower affinity to bind the CB1 receptors in the brain compared with delta-9. This receptor activates the cannabis high. The delta-9 THC therefore has a stronger effect than an equivalent dose of the delta-8 THC. A consumer would need to consume a little more delta-8 in order to get a similar buzz as delta-9. The unregulated hemp industry is full of THC derivatives and high doses, including delta-8. This makes the claim that delta-8 produces a milder buzz a joke.

Fallacy #4: “THC per serving matters; THC per package doesn’t.”

According to fast food chains, “a serving” is ten potato chips. “A serving” of vanilla ice cream equals about half a glass. The majority of people and myself may not agree on the definition of a “serving” for chips, THC or ice-cream.  This is because product manufacturers and consumers do not use the same definition of serving size. The total amount of THC in the package is just as relevant—if not more so—than the amount of THC in a single serving because it’s easy to eat 5, 10, or even a whole bag of THC-infused “hemp” gummies. Many consumers who are hungry will consume multiple servings of hemp edibles or beverages. This can result in an extreme high.

False #5: CBD neutralizes THC’s intoxicating effects, which allows for higher limits of THC in combination products.

Clinical study on Neuropsychopharmacology The Nov 2022 study sought to see if increasing CBD in a product could reduce THC’s impairment effects. The vaping device was used to administer four different CBD doses (0mg, 10mg, 20g, and 30g) in combination with THC of 10mg. Researchers found that THC’s intoxicating effect was not modulated significantly. CBD is effective in any dosage.“Adding: At CBD:THC Ratios Most Common in Medical and Recreational Cannabis Products, CBD does not protect against cannabis’ acute side effects.“^4,5 Some studies have shown that CBD in low doses can enhance the effects of THC and prolong the high.⁶ CBD does not act as an antidote to THC, any more than caffeine acts against alcohol.

Fallacy #6: “Synthetic cannabinoid molecules are identical to—and therefore just as safe as—plant-derived cannabinoids.”

So-called hemp products with synthetically created cannabinoids—whether molecularly identical to naturally occurring plant compounds or novel designer drugs—are rife with toxic solvent residues and other chemical impurities.^7,8 The synthesis of delta-8 THC (& delta-9 THC) from CBD isolate also produces numerous “abnormal THC isomers” with “unknown pharmacological and safety profiles,” according to Dr. Mark Scialdone, a recognized expert in the field of organic chemistry.⁹ The synthetic compounds are often designed to be more potent, and to alter the brain, than what is found in nature. THC B for example, is a THC like compound that has cannabinoid binding affinity 30-40x greater than THC. Scientists from Portland State University conducted a July 2022 research study that showed THC-O acetate produced harmful ketene gases when heated by a commercial vaping device. Ketene is lethal in five parts per millions.¹⁰ It is believed that the production of EVALI vape products was partially responsible, at least in part, for the death and permanent lung damage seen during peak “vaping crisis” of EVALI.¹¹ The health effects of synthetic cannabinoids include “[d]”Acute respiratory failure (acute alveolar bleeding), heart attack, seizure, kidney damage, and stroke.”¹²

Fallacy #7 : “Thanks a loophole found in the Farm Bill THCA-rich flowers are legal smokable hemp.”

It is the most ridiculous of the many hemp lawyer ploys. Raw cannabis flower, for example, has a high delta-9 THCA concentration and less than 0.3 % delta-9 THC. Therefore, this dubious logic says that raw cannabis falls under hemp in the Farm Bill. (The Farm Bill doesn’t even mention THCA). There’s really no difference between marijuana, THCA, and hemp. THCA is just old-fashioned weed re-branded in a mirror of unregulated hemp as “legal cannabis”. When THCA flower is baked, smoked or vaporized almost 90 percent of non-psychoactive THCA converts to buzzy THC. In the state-run cannabis market, THCA can be found. You can also find out more about us on our website. The total THC concentration is included in both the THC definition and the THC calculation. Cannabis with high THCA content is considered marijuana by the USDA and grown in state hemp programs.¹³ What makes it legal to grow hemp in the United States if cannabis flower that contains high THCA levels? It’s not.

Tiffany Devitt heads up regulatory affairs for CannaCraft and March and Ash. © Copyright, MEDCAN24. May not be reprinted without permission.

Footnotes

1. Consider that a standard gummy is about 5.8 grams and a 12 ounce drink weighs approximately 340 grams.
2. https://hempsupporter.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/USHR-Response-to-Congressional-RFI.pdf
3. Huestis, M.A. (2005). Pharmacokinetics of Plant Cannabinoids and their Metabolism, Δ ⁹-Tetrahydrocannibinol, Cannabidiol and Cannabinol. In: Pertwee, R.G. (eds) Cannabinoids. Handbook of Experimental Pharmacology, vol 168. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-26573-2_23
4. Englund, A., Oliver, You can also find out more about the D., Chesney, E. The et all Cannabidiol makes cannabis more safe? The results of a randomised double-blind cross-over study on cannabis with different ratios of CBD to THC. Neuropsychopharmacol. 48, 869–876 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01478-z
5. Englund, A., Oliver, D., Chesney, E. The et all Cannabidiol makes cannabis more safe? Randomised, blinded and cross-over double-blind trial on cannabis with different CBD:THC proportions. Neuropsychopharmacol. 48, 869–876 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41386-022-01478-z
6. Solowij N, Broyd S, Greenwood LM, van Hell H, Martelozzo D, Rueb K, Todd J, Liu Z, Galettis P, Martin J, Murray R, Jones A, Michie PT, Croft R. A randomised controlled trial of vaporised Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol alone and in combination in frequent and infrequent cannabis users: acute intoxication effects. Eur Arch Psychiatry & Clin Neurosci. 2019. In this study, 400 mg of CBD (which was much higher than the commercially available dose) also reduced the intoxicating effect of 8mg THC. Beware medical patients: a dose this high of CBD can interact with many prescription or over-the-counter pharmaceuticals.
7. Wakshlag, JJ. Cital, S. Eaton, S.J., Prussin, R., Hudalla, C. Cannabinoid and Terpene Analysis of Commercial Veterinary Hemp Products. Vet Med (Auckl). 2020 Apr 15;11:45-55. doi: 10.2147/VMRR.S248712. PMID: 32346530; PMCID: PMC7169471.
8. Ray CL, Bylo MP, Pescaglia J, Gawenis JA, Greenlief CM. Delta-8 Tetrahydrocannabinol Product Impurities. Molecules. 2022 Oct 15;27(20):6924. doi: 10.3390/molecules27206924. PMID: 36296514; PMCID: PMC9608670.
9. https://projectcbd.org/hemp/expert-gives-delta-8-thc-a-thumbs-down/
10. Kaelas M. Munger and Robert P. Jensen. Chemical Research in Toxicology 2022 35 (7), 1202-1205DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.2c00170
11. Kaelas M. Munger and Robert P. Jensen. Chemical Research in Toxicology 2022 35 (7), 1202-1205DOI: 10.1021/acs.chemrestox.2c00170
12. https://projectcbd.org/safety/under-the-radar-synthetic-cannabinoids-evali/
13. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/01/19/2021-00967/establishment-of-a-domestic-hemp-production-program