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There is a new product on the market called Delta 8. This product is being called “weed light.” This is because it can be sold to legal adults without a prescription. According to Carlos Hermida, owner of Chillum Glass Gallery and CBD Dispensary in Ybor City, Florida, the reason is due to the fact that Delta 8 is a hemp product. Not a cannabis product.
The difference, we’re talking about Delta 9 being cannabis, Delta 8 being available in hemp. If it’s hemp, it is legal. Still gets you stoned and it is made legal under the same laws that made CBD legal.
Some people have stated that Delta 8 is around 70 to 75 percent as potent as THC. Hermida says that a person only had to “consume a little more to feel the same.” He further stated that Delta 8 is an “alternative” to medical marijuana. People do not have to get a prescription or pay “extreme prices for cannabis.”
Currently, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) has stated that they are in the process of reviewing rules surrounding products like Delta 8. People should know that this product will more than likely show up on a drug test. Therefore if a person is caught driving while on this product it will be considered a Driving Under the Influence (DUI). In other states, this is called Operating Under the Influence (OUI).
This product is a minor cannabinoid (CBD) that occurs naturally in the plant. Normally it is in very small concentrations. However, commercial growers and extractors are using selective breeding and molecular isolation to produce larger quantities of Delta 8.
According to Weedmaps, there are over 100 cannabinoids present in the cannabis plant. There has been lots of research done on Delta-9-THC and CBD. However, there has been less information given about minor or secondary cannabinoids.
Delta 8 is considered a minor cannabinoid. It is also considered to be a degraded form of THC. This product binds to a person’s CB1 receptors which are located in the central nervous system. It has also been said to adhere to CB2 receptors. However, there have not been many studies performed about this binding mechanism.
A preclinical study published in 2018, states that Delta 8 may help reduce inflammation and pain from corneal injuries. It further stated that this product could reduce pain and inflammation to other areas if applied topically.
The United States National Library of Medicine says that the product could also assist those who suffer from anxiety. It has been said that consumption of this product could result in a very calm and focused high. This high would be without the added anxiety that normal THC products are said to have.
A 1995 study published in “Life Science,” said that Delta 8 has the potential to help fight nausea. The study was conducted on eight pediatric cancer patients over a two-year span. They found that the patients had no vomiting after they ingested Delta 8 products within 24 hours after cancer treatment. According to the study, there were very few side effects listed.
Some research has suggested that this product could help stimulate a person’s appetite. In one study, researchers found that mice who consumed Delta 8 over a 50 day period resulted in around 22 percent more food intake. Study’s are still being conducted on this product. It could potentially have more health benefits.
Written by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Weedmaps: Delta-8-Tetrahydrocannabinol
Fox: ‘Stone America’: Legal, lower-THC hemp product draws ire of Polk County sheriff; Josh Cascio
Featured Image Courtesy of James St. John’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License