Legal THC Products Source Of Law Enforcement Concern | Local News

Products containing delta-8, a THC compound in marijuana that provides the “high” associated with the drug, are now readily available at many local retailers. Some businesses are cashing in the demand.

That’s a concern to law enforcement, public health officials and some state lawmakers in Tennessee.

A legal loophole allows delta-8 and other derivatives containing THC to be sold at gas stations, convenience stores and other businesses in Greene County. Online sales are also thriving.

The 2018 U.S. Farm Bill did not specifically address delta-8, but it “effectively legalized it through a loophole that allowed the sale of hemp-derived delta-8 THC products in areas where recreational use of cannabis was prohibited, as well as where medicinal marijuana required medical authorization,” according to a news release about a study focusing on possible benefits and potential drawbacks of delta-8 conducted by researchers at the University of Buffalo and University of Michigan.

By 2020, products containing delta-8 THC “exploded in popularity” in states like Tennessee where recreational marijuana use remains illegal.

Delta-9 THC is the primary chemical in marijuana that provides the drug’s intoxicating effect.

It’s about twice as potent as Delta-8 and easier to extract from the plant.

Delta-8 is a “hemp-derived cousin of delta-9 THC,” according to a University of Buffalo news release about the study.

“It’s also produced in far less quantity and thus has to be processed from a concentrate. That’s why most people consume it in edibles such as gummies or brownies, or by vaping,” the release states.

Anyone who purchases delta-8 products in Tennessee must be at least 21 years old. Law enforcement agencies in Greene County are monitoring the situation.

“The main issue that we are facing at this time is nicotine and delta-8, 9, 10, et cetera, in vape devices, (and) occasionally a regular THC vape is found,” said Sheriff’s Department Lt. Teddy Lawing, supervisor of school resource officers in Greene County Schools.

“The gummies are available at most convenience stores,” Lawing said. “The problem we expect is kids getting ahold of their parents’ legally bought products.

“I don’t think parents realize the strength of the Delta 8, 9, 10, and THC and how it affects the teenager brain versus an adult brain,” Lawing said.

Delta-8 gummies and other products packaged to look like candy and presumably marketed to younger users “have psychoactive and intoxicating effects,” according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. They are sold in fruit flavors such as “Tropic Mango Hybrid,” marketing information from one manufacturer states.

“Delta-8 THC is one of over 100 cannabinoids produced naturally by the cannabis plant but is not found in significant amounts in the (plant). As a result, concentrated amounts of delta-8 THC are typically manufactured from hemp-derived cannabidiol,” or CBD, according to the FDA.

Delta-8 THC products have not been evaluated by the FDA for sale “and may be marketed in ways that put the public health at risk,” according to the federal agency.

A legal paradox exists with delta-8. Delta-8 THC is banned in 14 states. Six states allow recreational use of cannabis, 10 allow medical use and three states have decriminalized its recreational use. At the federal level, marijuana is classified as a Schedule I controlled substance, in the same category as heroin, LSD and ecstasy.

Lawing said the only existing Tennessee statute for vapes is a tobacco citation, which carries a civil fine of $126.50. He said the federal government, through the Farm Bill, “authorized hemp but with the .3% threshold, however, they did not have a plan for testing or how to handle if it got into schools. The state legislature did not address it getting in the hands of juveniles.

“There is very little penalty to a store who sells the delta (vapes) to juveniles. Even with alcohol, there is a statute covering charging the clerk and a civil process through (a local) beer board,” Lawing said.

Craig Duncan, director of the 3rd Judicial District Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, said that when the Farm Bill became law, “That is where our problems started.”

“Delta-8 and (other) varieties cause a problem in juveniles that act similarly to (LSD) back in its day,” Duncan said.

A delta-8 product is ”unnatural” in the sense “that they process the hemp plant and get stronger versions of THC via the hemp plant,” he said.

“If hemp tests .3% or above, it is considered illegal. If .3% or lower, it’s CBD. Either way, you have to be 21 to purchase and if in possession of a juvenile, it’s illegal,” Duncan said.

Greeneville police Lt. Joe Prokop, supervisor of school resource officers in Greeneville City Schools, said he was not aware of any current issues involving THC gummies in city schools.

“We have had one case of a THC edible in the school this year and a vape device containing THC. Those students were charged with possession of schedule VI and are pending dates in court,” Prokop said.

“I would like to see the state legislature enact stronger safeguards to protect our kids in local schools from the THC products that are readily available in our community,” he said.

Duncan said that when the Farm Bill was passed, the Tennessee legislature “did not provide a way by statute to keep it out of the schools.”

“We have the tobacco statutes that cover nicotine and tobacco, but nothing that specifically covers the deltas,” he said. “As of now, the legislature has not responded with any statutes.”

Edibles containing delta-8 and related THC compounds are often packaged and labeled to look like popular brands of commonly consumed foods, such as breakfast cereal, candy, and cookies.

The FDA issued an advisory earlier this year to consumers about the risk of accidental ingestion, especially by children, of edible products that contain THC. The products appeal to children and may be easily mistaken for popular, well-recognized foods, the FDA advisory cautions.

A tragic example of what could go wrong occurred earlier this year in Virginia, where a woman was charged with felony murder and felony child neglect after the death of her 4-year-old son, who authorities believe ate a large amount of THC gummies.

The woman was charged in October by the Spotsylvania County Sheriff’s Office. News outlets reported her son was found unresponsive on May 6 and was taken to a hospital, where he died two days later.

Court documents state toxicology results showed the child had extremely high levels of THC in his system. Before she was charged, the woman told WUSA-TV that she thought she had bought CBD gummies, which cause no high, and didn’t know they contained THC.

Continued efforts are being made to address issues associated with delta-8 in Tennessee’s General Assembly, said state Rep. David Hawk, R-Greeneville.

Hawk said he voted three times in favor of House Bill 1927. As amended, the House bill “would have placed greater rules and regulations on the burgeoning hemp industry.”

Hawk voted in favor of amending the measure in the House Criminal Justice Committee, the House Finance Subcommittee and the House Finance Committee.

“Frankly, there were rules and regulations that the hemp industry seemed to favor, in order to provide a more trusted product for consumers,” Hawk said.

Hawk said the bill amendment “did not have the momentum to pass in the last few days of our legislative session this past spring, as it stalled in a (state) Senate committee.”

The impasse prevented the bill from being placed on the legislative calendar for a vote in the Senate.

State Sen. Steve Southerland, R-Morristown, said last week he was not aware of any further developments with the amended bill.

Hawk said he will advocate a similar measure in the upcoming session of the General Assembly.

The amended bill as proposed has the stated purpose “to regulate the sale and distribution of products containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid” other than delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol derived from hemp in a concentration of more than 0.1%, or a hemp-derived product containing delta-9 in a concentration of 0.3% or less.

The amendment includes, but is not limited to, delta-8.

The amendment “prohibits any person from knowingly selling or distributing a product containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid to a person under 21 years of age, and further prohibits a person under 21 years of age from possessing, purchasing or accepting a product containing a hemp-derived cannabinoid.”

The amendment would require retailers “offering any products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids to maintain (them) behind the counter in an area inaccessible to a customer,” and classifies any violations of the requirement as a Class A misdemeanor.

The Tennessee Department of Agriculture would have been required to enforce the new prohibitions regarding sales of products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids to minors. The amendment would have created a new retail tax on the sale of products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids, “equal to 5%” of the sales price per hemp-derived product sold.

The amended bill would have established two new license types, a manufacturer license and a retailer license, “applicable for any person or business who manufactures or sells products containing a hemp-derived (cannabinoid).”

The bill would have established testing requirements of all products containing hemp-derived cannabinoids and required the state Department of Agriculture to create rules “specifying pass/fail action levels for safety and toxicity with respect to such testing.”

The bill also would have established child safety packaging and labeling requirements, along with “restrictions against advertising which may appeal to minors.”

The tax in a “Hemp Fund and Tennessee Agriculture Regulatory Fund” was estimated to have increased state revenue by almost $10.3 million in fiscal year 2022-23.

Hawk summarized the proposal.

“In a nutshell, Tennessee has attempted to better regulate the hemp industry, so products contain only the legal limit of 0.3% or less of a concentration of THC.”

He said that THC is the chemical “that can get someone high from the traditional marijuana plant, which is not supposed to be as highly concentrated in hemp.”

Hawk shares the concern of law enforcement and public health officials.

“I have worries that many products that are making their way into the hands of teens are well beyond the legal 0.3% concentration of THC, even though they may be derived from the hemp plant. These products are often packaged in a similar way to other popular candy-type products, with little to no warning about the potential side effects and harm that can occur,” Hawk said.

“Please know that I will continue to work on behalf of law enforcement, our schools and our families to ensure that these products are actually meeting legal standards. I plan to support this legislation again in our 2023 session, to try to keep these shady products out of the hands of minors in Greene County,” he said.

Staff writer Mario Micallef and the Associated Press contributed to this report