Adolescents are using an often unregulated, psychoactive derivative of cannabis, according to national data released Wednesday, as the Biden administration deliberates expanding access to marijuana at the federal level.
About 11 percent of 12th graders in the U.S. reported using Delta-8-THC in the past year, according to a new analysis supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. That number is still below the 30 percent of 12th graders who reported using marijuana, however.
Delta-8 is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant — varieties of which include hemp and marijuana. The substance is marketed as less potent than Delta-9, the compound responsible for the psychoactive effects of marijuana, but is often synthesized and concentrated at higher levels than what naturally occurs in the plant.
