Pediatric Pharmacist | Educator | Cannabis Science | Chief Science Officer of The Cannigma | Advisor | Advocate
ATTN: "Hemp" Haters New ammunition to fire back at the "hemp already legalized cannabis" people This "hemp" ain't hemp most of the time! Nice white paper "The Great "Hemp" Hoax" by some very smart people in the industry. Hemp-derived THC isn’t what you think it is. In a new study highlighted in the whitepaper, researchers tested 104 so-called "hemp" products from 68 brands, and the results were pretty shocking: 95% of vapes and gummies contained synthetic or converted cannabinoids (mostly chemically manufactured THC, both d8 adn d9) Easily bought online—no age verification, no safety testing This isn’t hemp. This is an unregulated synthetic drug market exploiting a legal loophole. And why is this happening? Because naturally extracting Delta-8 or Delta-9 THC from hemp is wildly impractical! Instead, companies are using lab-made THC—often including ultra-potent synthetic molecules like THCP and now-banned THCO—compounds that barely exist or don't exist at all in natural cannabis. Often companies using these converted cannabinoids do not even know they were converted! The hemp loophole isn’t just broken—it’s fueling an unregulated industry with unknown risks, all while the marijuana plant is regulated to death.
The Great Hemp Hoax is a hoax. Dig a little deeper into who the “researchers” are. It’s not about safe medicine. It’s about the bottom line.
Also correct me if I’m wrong but isn’t groundwork holdings owner of a lot of cannabis companies? Oh, yes they are. Do any of the other parties listed invested in cannabis? Oh, wait yes they are. Also, wasn’t Delta 8 (found in plant, 1941) used in pediatrics cancer to suppress nausea and in crease appetite, oh yes it was and I believe in my home town Memphis at the word renowned St Jude? Oh, wait, did I have a member of that medical team that was on that team? Oh, yes I did. Did Raphael Mechoulam say that THCp was not a synthetic? Oh yea he did. Come on guys We can argue and I can do this all day but let’s just learn to play in the sandbox together. I have created framework for hemp multiple times. It’s not the hemp industry. Heck those that are true to the plant want some regulation.
Codi, curious your take as a scientist, what could hemp brands do to disprove these claims/reassure consumers that their products are as stated? Providing ND results for common adulterants/byproducts/analogs? What should an informed consumer who reads this post/study look for when buying hemp THC products?
Great post Codi Peterson
This is a designer drug problem. Not a HEMP problem. And designer drugs have been thriving in gas stations and websites for decades, why all of a sudden push against Hemp specifically? Don't you think it might negatively impact the real Hemp industry and those producing real and compliant hemp products? Or is there some other motivation behind this new founded "concern" for society?
It's a wild, wild country y'all live in Codi Peterson! 😉
Exactly. This hemp loophole game is straight-up cheat codes for shady operators while legit cannabis businesses are getting taxed, tracked, and regulated into the ground. Like, how are you gonna tell me dispensaries gotta jump through METRC hoops, pay crazy taxes, and follow every compliance rule - but these online brands just flip CBD into THC, slap “hemp-derived” on the label, and ship it to anyone with a credit card? And the craziest part? Most consumers have no idea they’re smoking converted cannabinoids from a sketchy lab instead of real cannabis. This whole synthetic loophole era is gonna crash hard when regulators finally step in. Until then? It’s the Wild West out here.
Hemp is the mass market solution as it only costs 500$$ or less an acre to grow and harvest and freeze into a form ready to sell directly to consumers by the kg. The whole bastardization of hemp for designer drugs is not something to take seriously as most people are too risk averse to actually consume such a thing. And if somebody does and comes to no good it’s just validating that “ the Darwin awards “ are alive and well The last thing either the cannabis or hemp sectors need is a de novo versions of “ reefer madness”. Putting hemp into grocery stores with CFIA inspected manufacture and HACCP plans would fix that whole mess. But the last thing anyone needs is a dissing contest between the hemp and cannabis folks as there is absolutely no winner from any perspective from that. I have consumed my hemp that way since 1999 when I grew my first field of it.
👀
Farming ....... and Nurturing Life
1moLol people aren't buying hemp for it's thc, they can literally visit the field it's grown in.. sounds like a prelude to a product launch