Name: KETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates
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KETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates

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Advertisement'People getting high,' Cannabinoid conundrum with Delta 8 THC?KETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates'People getting high,' Cannabinoid conundrum with Delta 8 THC?Hide TranscriptShow TranscriptROB: AS HEMP SHOPS AND CBD STORES POP UP AROUND TOWN, ONE VIEWER EMAILED US, SURPRISED TO FIND THAT WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE CBD GUMMIES, GAVE THEM AN ALTERED MENTAL STATE. JULIE: BUT HOW COULD THAT BE, WHEN HEMP IS NOT SUPPOSED TO GET YOU HIGH? IT LED KETV NEWSWATCH 7 INVESTIGATES’ MICHELLE BANDUR TO DISCOVER A CANNABINOID THAT’S LEGAL, AT LEAST FOR NOW. ♪ MICHELLE: IT’S KNOWN ON THE STREET AS WEED LIGHT. &gt;&gt; WE’VE HEARD OF PEOPLE GETTING HIGH FROM DELTA 8 THC. MICHELLE: DELTA 8 THC IS DERIVED FROM THE HEMP PLANT AND IT’S LEGAL IN NEBRASKA. THAT’S HOW SOME METRO AREA STORES ARE ADVERSTISING THE CANNABINOID. FEDERALLY LEGAL CANNABIS. &gt;&gt; THE NEW HOT CANNABINOID, DELTA 8 THC, IS VERY POPULAR RIGHT NOW. MICHELLE: CHRISTINE GABIG IS A FORENSIC CHEMIST AT THE DOUGLAS COUNTY CRIME LAB, WHERE SHE TESTS VARIOUS HEMP AND MARIJUANA PRODUCTS FOR THC. THAT’S THE PSYCHOACTIVE COMPONENT THAT GETS YOU HIGH. THE NEBRASKA HEMP LAW AND FEDERAL FARM BILL ACT MADE IT SO PRODUCT TO PREVENT YOU FROM GETTING HIGH. BUT WHAT ABOUT OUR VIEWER? THE ONE WHO BOUGHT SOME GUMMIES AT AN OMAHA STORE AND FELT THOSE MIND ALTERING EFFECTS? ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF HEALTH, BESIDES THC AND CBD, MORE THAN 100 OTH CANNABINOIDS HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING DELTA 8 THC AND ITS CLOSE, BUT ILLEGAL COUSIN, DELTA 9-THC. &gt;&gt; THE DELTA 9 THC IS A SCHEDULED ONE CONTROLLED SUB IF IT ISN’T A PERCENTAGE GREATER THAN .3%. &gt;&gt; THEY’RE SO CLOSE IN CHEMICAL STRUCTURE, GABIG EXPLAINS,THAT WHEN YOU TAKE DELTA 8 IT CLINGS TO THE SAME RECEPTORS IN YOUR BODY, AS DELTA 9. &gt;&gt; WHEN SOMETHING REACTS TO THIS RECEPTOR THAT’S WHEN WE GET THE HIGH FEELING. D8 THC REACTS DIFFERNTLY THAN D9 THAT’S WHY NOT AS MUCH OF A HIGH AS YOU WOULD GET WITH D9 THC. &gt;&gt; KETV NEWSWATCH 7 INVESTIGATES SENT THOSE SAME GUMMIES OUR VIEWER BOUGHT OFF TO KAYCHA LABS IN TENNESSEE TO SEE WHAT WAS REALLY INSIDE. &gt;&gt; THEY WERE DEFINITELY A DELT 8 PRODUCT. IT WAS EASY ENOUGH FOR US TO SEPARATE THOSE PEAKS IN THAT CHROMATAGRAM TO FIND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DELTA 8 AND DELTA 9. &gt;&gt; BAILEY CRYSTAL IS A SCIENTIFIC PROJECT COORDINATOR FOR KAY-CHA LABS. IT SERVES HEMP GROWERS AND SELLERS ALL OVER THE COUNTRY, WHO TEST THEIR PLANTS TO MAKE SURE LEVELS MEET THE FEDERAL REGULATIONS OF HAVING LESS THAN .3% THC. &gt;&gt; EVERYBODY IS GOING TO START PUSHING TOWARD THIS DELTA 8 THE IDEA IT WILL GET YOU HIGH. WITHOUT GETTING YOU HIGH AND BEING A LEGAL SUBSTANCE. &gt;&gt; SO WHAT WAS IN THE GUMMIES WE SENT TO KAY-CHA LABS. THE CERTIFICATE OF ANALYSIS SHOWS ZERO THC, ZERO CBD AND A LITTLE OVER .3% CANNABINOIDS. SO THAT MEANS IT’S LEGAL. &gt;&gt; IT IS A 100% LEGAL PRODUCT. &gt;&gt; EVEN THOUGH IT FALLS UNDER THE LEGAL GUIDELINES, THERE IS A DELTA 8 DEBATE. THE DRUG ENFORCEMENT ADMINISTRATION IS CURRENTLY RESEARCHING IF CHANGES ARE NEEDED IN THE FARM BILL. TO REGULATE THIS CANNIBINOID. -- CANNABINOID. ONE OMAHA STORE SAYS ON ITS WEBSITE, DELTA 8 THC IS NOT REGULATED AND IS COMPLETELY LEGAL ON A FEDERAL LEVEL, SO WE ARE TAKING FULL ADVANTAGE OF IT, &gt;&gt; FROM WHAT YOU ARE SEEING IN YOUR LABS WOULD YOU BE SURPRISED IF THE DEA MADE DELTA 8 ILLEGAL? &gt;&gt; ABSOLUTELY NOT. ABSOLUTELY NOT. IT DOES STILL HAVE THE PROPERTIES OF BINDING TO THAT CB ONE RECEPTOR WHICH IS ATTACKING YOUR CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM ESSENTIALLY, SO IT STILL IS A DRUG. &gt;&gt; LAW ENFORCEMENT KETV INVESTIGATES CONTACTED BROUGHT UP CONCERNS OF HOW MUCH DELTA-8 DOES IT TAKE TO BE IMPAIRED. A CANNABINOID CONUNDRUM THAT GABIG SAYS IS JUST GETTING STARTED AS SCIENCE IS ONE STEP AHEAD OF THE LAW. &gt;&gt; I THINK WE ARE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE TO SEE IT BOOM IN THE RESEARCH ON THESE DIFFERENT KNAPP ANNOYS -- CANNABINOIDS AND THE EFFECTS THEY COULD HAVE FOR MEDICAL PURPOSES.AdvertisementKETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates'People getting high,' Cannabinoid conundrum with Delta 8 THC?As more hemp and CBD shops pop up around the metro, one KETV viewer emailed us to share his experience of feeling high after taking what he thought were CBD products.It's known on the streets as, 'weed light.'"We've heard of people getting high from Delta 8 THC," said Douglas County crime lab forensic chemist, Christine Gabig.Delta 8 THC is derived from the hemp plant and it's legal in Nebraska. Some local stores are advertising the cannabinoid as federally legal cannabis. "The new hot cannabinoid, Delta 8 THC is very popular right now," Gabig said.Gabig tests various hemp and marijuana products for THC, the psychoactive component that gets a person high. The Nebraska Hemp Law and Federal Farm Bill Act of 2019 made products with less than 0.3% THC legal to prevent people from getting high.But what about the KETV viewer, who bought some gummies at an Omaha store and felt those mind-altering effects? According to the National Institute of Health, besides THC and CBD, more than 100 other cannabinoids have been identified, including Delta 8 THC and its close, but illegal cousin, Delta 9-THC. "The Delta 9 THC is a scheduled one controlled substance if its percent is greater than 0.3%," Gabig said.They're so close in chemical structure, Gabig explains that when someone takes Delta 8, it clings to the same receptors in the body as Delta 9. "When something reacts to this receptor, that's when we get the high feeling. Delta 8 THC reacts differently than Delta 9 THC, that's why there's not as much of a high of Delta 9 THC," she said. KETV Newswatch 7 investigates sent those same gummies the viewer bought off to Kaycha Labs in Tennessee to see what ingredients were inside. "They were definitely a Delta 8 product. It was easy enough for us to separate those peaks to find the difference between Delta 8 and Delta 9," said Bailey Crystal, a scientific project coordinator for Kaycha Labs.It serves hemp growers and sellers all over the country and tests their plants to make sure levels meet the federal regulations of having less than 0.3% THC. "Everyone is going to start pushing toward this Delta 8 the idea that it will get you high without getting you high and being a legal substance," Crystal said. The certificate of analysis shows zero THC, zero CBD and a little over 0.3% cannabinoids."It's 100 percent a legal product," she said. Even though it falls under the legal guidelines, there is a Delta 8 debate. The Drug Enforcement Administration is currently researching if changes are needed in the farm bill to regulate this cannabinoid.On its website, one Omaha store said 'Delta 8 THC is not regulated and is completely legal on a federal level, so we are taking full advantage of it while we can.'Crystal said she would not be surprised if the DEA makes Delta 8 THC an illegal drug. "It does still have the properties of binding to that CB one receptor, which is attacking your central nervous system essentially," she said. "Which it still is a drug." Law enforcement has also brought up concerns of how much Delta 8 does it take for one to be impaired.It's a cannabinoid conundrum that Gabig said is just getting started as science is one step ahead of the law."I think we are just going to continue to see it boom in the research on these different cannabinoids and the effects they could have for medical purposes," she said.Calls and messages to the store that sells the Delta 8 THC gummies, Kaycha Labs tested went unanswered.As more hemp and CBD shops pop up around the metro, one KETV viewer emailed us to share his experience of feeling high after taking what he thought were CBD products.It's known on the streets as, 'weed light.'Advertisement"We've heard of people getting high from Delta 8 THC," said Douglas County crime lab forensic chemist, Christine Gabig.Delta 8 THC is derived from the hemp plant and it's legal in Nebraska. Some local stores are advertising the cannabinoid as federally legal cannabis. "The new hot cannabinoid, Delta 8 THC is very popular right now," Gabig said.Gabig tests various hemp and marijuana products for THC, the psychoactive component that gets a person high.The Nebraska Hemp Law and Federal Farm Bill Act of 2019 made products with less than 0.3% THC legal to prevent people from getting high.But what about the KETV viewer, who bought some gummies at an Omaha store and felt those mind-altering effects? According to the National Institute of Health, besides THC and CBD, more than 100 other cannabinoids have been identified, including Delta 8 THC and its close, but illegal cousin, Delta 9-THC. "The Delta 9 THC is a scheduled one controlled substance if its percent is greater than 0.3%," Gabig said.They're so close in chemical structure, Gabig explains that when someone takes Delta 8, it clings to the same receptors in the body as Delta 9. "When something reacts to this receptor, that's when we get the high feeling. Delta 8 THC reacts differently than Delta 9 THC, that's why there's not as much of a high of Delta 9 THC," she said. KETV Newswatch 7 investigates sent those same gummies the viewer bought off to in Tennessee to see what ingredients were inside. "They were definitely a Delta 8 product. It was easy enough for us to separate those peaks to find the difference between Delta 8 and Delta 9," said Bailey Crystal, a scientific project coordinator for Kaycha Labs.It serves hemp growers and sellers all over the country and tests their plants to make sure levels meet the federal regulations of having less than 0.3% THC. "Everyone is going to start pushing toward this Delta 8 the idea that it will get you high without getting you high and being a legal substance," Crystal said. The certificate of analysis shows zero THC, zero CBD and a little over 0.3% cannabinoids."It's 100 percent a legal product," she said. Even though it falls under the legal guidelines, there is a Delta 8 debate. The is currently researching if changes are needed in the farm bill to regulate this cannabinoid.On its website, one Omaha store said 'Delta 8 THC is not regulated and is completely legal on a federal level, so we are taking full advantage of it while we can.'Crystal said she would not be surprised if the DEA makes Delta 8 THC an illegal drug. "It does still have the properties of binding to that CB one receptor, which is attacking your central nervous system essentially," she said. "Which it still is a drug." Law enforcement has also brought up concerns of how much Delta 8 does it take for one to be impaired.It's a cannabinoid conundrum that Gabig said is just getting started as science is one step ahead of the law."I think we are just going to continue to see it boom in the research on these different cannabinoids and the effects they could have for medical purposes," she said.Calls and messages to the store that sells the Delta 8 THC gummies, Kaycha Labs tested went unanswered.Loading more articles...

Advertisement'People getting high,' Cannabinoid conundrum with Delta 8 THC?KETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates'People getting high,' Cannabinoid conundrum with Delta 8 THC?Hide TranscriptShow TranscriptROB: AS HEMP SHOPS AND CBD STORES POP UP AROUND TOWN, ONE VIEWER EMAILED US, SURPRISED TO FIND THAT WHAT THEY THOUGHT WERE CBD GUMMIES, GAVE THEM AN ALTERED MENTAL STATE. JULIE: BUT HOW COULD THAT BE, WHEN HEMP IS NOT SUPPOSED TO GET YOU HIGH? IT LED KETV NEWSWATCH 7 INVESTIGATES’ MICHELLE BANDUR TO DISCOVER A CANNABINOID THAT’S LEGAL, AT...

KETV Investigation: 'Weed light;' popular hemp product gets people high; DEA investigates

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