‘Wild West environment’ of mislabeled hemp products like Delta-8 THC prompts renewed calls for regulation

A recent study that found dangerously mislabeled contents of unlicensed hemp products in Illinois, like Delta-8 and Delta-10 THC, is prompting a renewed call for regulation.

The study by a University of Illinois Chicago researcher, found that such products “pose a clear danger” and a “huge risk” to consumers.

“Without regulations being put in place and then fully enforced, this danger will continue, and more people will be harmed,” wrote former university researcher Jennifer Bash.

In response, Ald. Brian Hopkins called for legislation to ban or regulate such products.

“This is a completely unregulated, Wild West environment,” he said.

The Midwest Hemp Council, a trade group, has been trying to get regulation of the industry for some time, arguing that bad actors who sell mislabeled products to minors are jeopardizing reputable businesses.

Charles Wu, founder of Chi’tiva, a Chicago business that grows and sells hemp-derived products, said he’s hopeful for state lawmakers to pass legislation this spring.

“Regulation is good for everybody,” Wu said. “It’s better to regulate and tax it than push it into the gray market.”

The issue highlights a fundamental conundrum in the law. While cannabis is illegal under federal law, Illinois is one of 24 states that have legalized recreational use for adults 21 and over. Licensed companies typically are required to track, test and label their products, and require customers to show proof they are of legal age.

At the federal level, in the 2018 Farm Bill, Congress legalized hemp, defined as cannabis plants that have less than .3% by weight of Delta-9 THC, the primary component of the plant that gets users high. State law requires testing of hemp crops, but consumer products don’t face the same scrutiny.

The intent of legalizing hemp was to allow production of non-intoxicating hemp derivatives such as CBD. But as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration failed to develop regulations for the use of CBD in commercial products, producers turned to developing synthetic derivatives such as Delta-8 and Delta-10, which can get users high like typical marijuana.

The result has been a proliferation of smoke and vape shops and gas stations that sell unregulated intoxicating hemp products, with no age restriction. As a result, customers often have no assurance of what is in the products they are buying.

The new study of unlicensed hemp products found that many labeled as containing Delta-8 often contained other cannabinoids, including Delta-9-THC. One product had three times the Delta-8 as stated on the package, while others had none of what was on the label.

Illinois regulations limit licensed cannabis products to 100 milligrams of THC, but hemp products often far exceeded that, with as much as 7,000 milligrams.

Hopkins scheduled a news conference for Thursday to feature a doctor from Lurie’s Children’s Hospital talking about children that are treated for ingesting and overdosing unlicensed products.

Last year, five students at a high school in Uptown were sickened by unlicensed products.

Hopkins has previously proposed regulating such products, but the City Council has not acted on it yet.

rmccoppin@chicagotribue.com