A Significant Number of Teens Are Using Delta-8 Products

According to the latest Monitoring the Future survey, more U.S. teens are experimenting with delta-8, a cannabinoid found in cannabis and hemp plants. In 2023, 11 percent of 12th grade students reported using the substance. To put the results into perspective, that’s at least one or two students in every average-sized high school class, according to the National Institutes of Health, which provided funding for the survey. Ninety-one percent of the teens who used delta-8 also acknowledged using marijuana.

Delta-8 has comparable effects on the body and brain to delta-9 THC, the primary psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, but there’s no regulatory oversight in the U.S. for how delta-8 is manufactured or tested. Delta-8 users have reported adverse health effects like rapid heart rate, breathing problems, and even seizures. Health officials say teens are at greater risk because they can unintentionally overconsume edibles that contain delta-8 THC.



Source link