A new study from the University of Bath revealed that seven vaporizers claiming to contain cannabis actually contained a much more dangerous “synthetic cannabinoid” (SC) compound.
Earlier this year, the same lab published a study showing that over one in six vaporizers confiscated from schoolchildren across the UK also contained SCs.
Sam Craft, an author on both studies, says his team decided to investigate the contents of seven vapes that one person presented to a drug and alcohol service after experiencing strange effects.
The person “was an experienced cannabis smoker”, says Craft, and they had decided to switch to vaping because they thought it would be less harmful.
Cannabis is illegal in the UK without a prescription, but this person got the vaporizers from a friend who sourced them from the US. When the person first started using these vapes, they described the effects as “strong but enjoyable”, says Craft, but after a while, they started developing stomach cramps and irritability. “Then when they tried to stop, they started experiencing symptoms that are really consistent with synthetic cannabinoid withdrawal. Panic attacks, severe anxiety, things like that.”
Analysis of the vapes revealed that all of them contained the SC 5F-MDMB-PICA. There are hundreds of different SCs – officially named with these letter-number combinations, and referred to colloquially as “K2”, “Spice” and other slang terms.
Unlike natural cannabis, they are frequently associated with severe negative outcomes, including seizures and fatal overdoses. In England and Wales, SCs were responsible for nearly half of unnatural prison deaths from 2015-2020.
SCs are also illegal in the UK and the US. Still, they are showing up in the unregulated US hemp market that emerged as the result of the 2018 Farm bill, which inadvertently legalized all cannabis-derived products containing less than .3% delta 9 THC, cannabis’s most well-known psychoactive component.
SCs are distinct from semi-synthetic cannabinoids, like THC-O, and sometimes HHC and Delta-8 THC, which can be made by combining natural cannabis extracts with synthetic materials, and which are legal in much of the US.
That doesn’t mean they are without risk, according to Michelle Peace, a professor in the department of forensic science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Peace’s lab has studied the contents of vapes seized from a person who was arrested after experiencing schizophrenia-like symptoms. Her lab found the vapes contained semi-synthetic cannabinoids like THC-O.
Jim Crotty, a former DEA deputy chief of staff, says that SCs are appealing to illicit manufacturers because they are incredibly cheap to make and to sell. Instead of growing fields, manufacturers can make SC vapes with packets of powders they buy online.
Crotty says these products could be appealing to “vulnerable populations with limited income like youth and unhoused people”, who might find legal dispensary products unaffordable.
It’s unclear how big this problem is, partly because consumers themselves are unlikely to know they are using contaminated products. Peace says most consumers will “walk into any store” and assume that someone has made sure whatever they are buying has been tested for safety. But there is not yet federal regulation for the legal hemp market – “nobody’s watching”, what manufacturers put in their products, says Peace.
Crotty adds that cannabis is an easy drug to fake, because it’s so unpredictable.
“It doesn’t fall neatly into any one of the drug categories, right? Because depending on the amount, the potency, the individual that’s using it, it could lead to different effects,” he explained, adding that cannabis can feel like a stimulant, a depressant, a hallucinogen, or a little bit of all three.
Craft says that SCs can seem similar to natural cannabis, especially in very small doses, like in the vaporizers they studied. But, he said, the risk of “cardiovascular problems, the lack of consciousness and the acute psychotic symptoms are going to be far higher”.
At the moment, it is very difficult to tell if unregulated hemp products are labeled accurately in the US. Peace says that if you live in a state with legal recreational cannabis, you are much safer buying products from an authorized dispensary, although these are not entirely without risk either.
Legal and industry efforts are under way to bring safety standards for currently unregulated hemp products at least up to par with the state-legal cannabis industry. The Cannabinoid Safety and Regulation act, introduced in Congress in September, would empower the FDA to regulate hemp products.
Some cannabis brands are taking it upon themselves to ensure products only contain what they say they do.
The recreational cannabis brand Wana launched a direct-to-consumer platform that sells vetted hemp products, and also educates consumers on what products are safe.
“We apply the same rigor of testing, transparency and ingredients to the hemp side as we are to the regulated markets,” says Joe Hodas, the Wana CEO. But, he says, “it’s a tough and lonely road”, in a side of the industry that seems largely unconcerned with safety.
