If you have a kid anywhere around age 12 and up, you’re likely concerned on some level about them smoking or using marijuana. Maybe you already know they’re using it and have started locking horns on the topic. Or maybe so far so good but you’re on the look-out.

Well, do you know much about Delta-8? What about THCA, THCO, Delta-10, or HHC? I know you’ve heard of CBD.

These are all “marijuana-adjacent” products as they say in the cannabis industry. They’re derivatives or chemical compounds derived from the same plant and you should at least be aware of what’s out there, what’s legal and what’s not and what your teen can easily get their hands on.

If you get my newsletter, you may heave read a little about delta-8 on Tuesday. If you don’t get the newsletter, you’re missing out so go to speakingofteens.com and scroll down the page and sign up.

Anyway, in the newsletter I mentioned the recently released Monitoring the Future Survey here in the US, that found around 11% of high school seniors in the US used Delta-8. Now, most experts say this estimate is probably very low because many kids who use cannabis in any form are more likely to absent from school and they do these surveys at school.

So, today I want to talk to you about not only delta-8 but some of these other chemical compounds derived from cannabis that your teen may be able to walk into any gas station or convenience store and purchase and get very similar effects to the high-producing delta-9 THC. Stay with me, I’m going to explain it all.

This is Speaking of Teens, the podcast that that teaches you the science of parenting adolescents so you can be less stressed and more excited about having a teenager. I’m Ann Coleman, I’m an attorney turned parent educator and I’ve spent years studying the science of teen behavior and I want to help you learn how to parent your teens for the best possible outcome.

Now, before I even begin talking about the different issues with these other widely available chemicals, let me just say that I do not want to induce fear in you, okay? The worst thing you can do is to be panicked about your teen using marijuana. There is nothing good that can come from panicking, freaking out, locking them in the house or drug testing them. Fear is your enemy – trust me.

Instead, you have to approach the issue with curiosity and try to learn why your teen is using it, what are they getting out of it? Is it because they feel it helps their anxiety? Because they want to fit in? Because they think it’s fun? You stand a much better chance of helping them avoid a substance if you will listen without freaking out or getting angry. Try to put yourself in their shoes and understand what’s going on in their world and in their head.

Once you understand why they’re using it, you can work with them (rather than just punish them) and try to help them stop using or at least stop using as much. Maybe they need anxiety medication or therapy or maybe they just need to be busier – involved in more activities that take up some of their down time. Maybe they aren’t feeling good about themselves or experiencing some sort of emotional pain.

If you do blow your top, punish, lecture, get angry or freak out and panic, I can almost guarantee you that your teen will keep using, you’ll never know why, and they will be sure and hide it from you if they can. As soon as you start trying to control them or they see that you are going to make it a huge deal, they will shut down communication and that’s not what you want. You want that connection so you can influence them. If you lose it, all of that influence will come from friends and not you.

Of course, you don’t want your teen using substances (you at least want them to put off trying substances as long as possible) because of the long-term effects on their brain – mainly because of their overactive reward system and the very real potential for addiction and smoothing the way for other addictions. But again, no panic necessary.

Learning to take in the information from your kid and sit with it and decide how to proceed with them. is such an important skill – think before you act or say anything. Take a breath or a day and decide how to approach it.

Now, I’ll link to several episodes in the show notes to give you a better understanding of what to do if your teen is using or you suspect they are. So please be sure and grab that link in the episode description.

But right now, I just want you to not feel so in the dark when it comes to these cannabis products, so you you’re in the know and on top of the current state of things and can discuss the subject intelligently with your teens.

So, let’s start with weed 101:

All the products that I mentioned in the opening start with the Cannabis Sativa plant. This species of plant – the one that looks like we think of marijuana – actually contains over 500 chemical compounds, including around 100 cannabinoids which are molecules that bind to the brain’s CB1 and CB2 receptors.

These receptors are part of the endocannabinoid system, which plays a role in regulating various bodily functions – everything from memory to thinking and time perception. Stay with me.

So, each of these 100 or so cannabinoids in the Cannabis Sativa plant have various qualities including very real therapeutic qualities. The 2 cannabinoids that are known for their most therapeutic qualities are Cannabidiol (commonly known as CBD) and Delta-9 (commonly known as THC).

Now let me back up just a minute. From the Cannabis Sativa plant, you get both Hemp and Cannabis. Let me tell you the difference.

Cannabis Sativa is considered “hemp” if it contains POINT.3% or less THC, which will not produce any “high” for the user, at all – and hemp is considered an agricultural product under federal law and was legalized back in 2018 with the federal Farm Bill – up until then all cannabis sativa plants were illegal.

Hemp is used in all sorts of consumer and industrial products, and the cannabidiol or CBD containing products that are sold in stores everywhere legally, is derived from Hemp and therefore has POINT.3% or less delta-9 THC – it will not make you high.

Now if the Cannabis Sativa plant is harvested a little later, when it has more than POINT.3% delta-9 THC, it’s just considered cannabis or marijuana – the stuff you smoke or ingest to get high or produce various therapeutic benefits.

Now, of course, delta-9 THC is still illegal at the federal level, but most states have now legalized it and regulate it in some form or fashion.

Following me so far?

Of course, we know that back in the day, the cannabis or marijuana our generation or our parents’ generation used, contained maybe 5 to 8% THC, and now it can contain up to 100% THC. It’s not your grandmas weed.

This is another reason it’s more concerning for teens to be smoking these high concentrations of THC. You can also listen to episodes 109 and 111 about the potential for contaminates in unregulated vape pens with liquid THC.

But what about all these other compounds I mentioned – delta-8, THCA, HHC? What’s this stuff and is it legal, where do teens get it?

The Farm bill that was signed back in 2018 and legalized the growing of cannabis sativa as hemp, failed to address all the creative ways people could synthesize the cannabinoids from the legal plant and make other psychoactive substances.

But that’s exactly where delta-8 and these other substances come from – legalized hemp.

Again, hemp is supposedly just an agricultural product that contains POINT.3% or less of the psychoactive delta-9 THC (the stuff that makes you high), so it is not regulated like marijuana. And CBD has been the primary bi-product to have found it’s way into vape shops and health food stores.

However, according to Chemical and Engineering News hemp producers started looking for another way to make money a few years ago when there was an oversupply of CBD, which caused prices to drop.

So, they used some creative chemistry and started converting CBD into other products.

One of those products is delta-8 THC otherwise known as “diet weed” or “gas station weed”.

The primary target market for delta-8 became people in states where marijuana was not yet legalized, or people that didn’t want to feel like they were really using marijuana and, unfortunately, teens.

To understand exactly how delta-8 comes to be, I consulted Chemical and Engineering news, and here’s a simplified version: the CBD is put with some sort of organic solvent and very strong acid that acts as a catalyst to create a chemical reaction.

There’s absolutely no oversight or regulation and it appears most of what is sold as delta-8 is not actually pure delta-8. There are leftovers from this conversion of CBD to delta-8, which may even include other cannabinoids like delta-9-THC (the stuff that makes you high), and by-products from the chemical reaction like residual metals.

Scientists who have tested these delta-8 products in analytical laboratories are concerned about all these unknown compounds and by-products or contaminates they are seeing in this gas station weed. They say that most people making and selling this stiff are not doing it in a pharmaceutical environment with PhD chemists – many are not even trained chemists and they’re getting their information from online forums.

And here’s the kicker, these delta-8 products, despite being derived from a product that typically has no more than POINT.3% delta-9 THC, can make you really high.

Because a lot of it does contain delta-9 – and who knows what other chemicals are in there causing that psychoactive reaction! I’d be more afraid of those unknown chemicals than the delta-9.

The DEA – the drug enforcement agency has stated that delta-8 and it’s similar compound, delta-10, both derived from hemp are legal at the federal level. And at the state level, delta-8 at least, is legal in 22 states and Washington DC, with very little regulation, meaning anyone can buy it.

A handful of states do require someone to be 21 to buy it and several states are involved in legal actions to determine the actual legality.

It’s currently banned in only 17 states and severely restricted in 7. These laws are all over the place so go look at the link I’ll provide in the show notes.

Now, what about THCA, what the heck is that? My husband was the one who told me about this – he knows someone here who has hemp and cannabis growing facilities in other states. But I’d never heard of it. And this is another way that manufacturers and sellers are getting around the cannabis laws and regulations – or at least trying to.

Remember, the 2018 Farm Bill says the cannabis sativa plant is considered hemp if it contains POINT.3% or less of the psychoactive THC – delta-9. And this is measured in the plant prior to it being harvested. Once it passes inspection many would argue it’s legal.

Now, THCA is an acid found in every single cannabis sativa plant – it has no psychoactive properties as it sits, harvested from the plant. However, when heated, as in when it’s smoked or vaped, THCA is converted into delta-9 THC – it becomes marijuana. Basically, THCA is a precursor to delta-9-THC.

Wow, huh? So, you have a product, when sitting there on a store shelf, which is not marijuana, but as soon as it’s lit up in a blunt or a bong, it’s weed – 100%. Crazy.

I won’t even go into the muddy legal waters here, but you can imagine that between marijuana regulators, police, people selling it and people using it, there’s a ton of confusion and legal wrangling. Is it hemp or is it weed? If you possess it without smoking it, it may be just hemp, but if cops walk up and you’re smoking it, it’s weed. It’s a mess. It’s a legal loophole that some states have closed but depending on where you live, you still may be able to buy it at the corner convenience store where they sell delta-8 too.

There are at least around 9 states are not THCA friendly. Your teen may be able to easily purchase it in your state, but in others where marijuana is legalized or they have specific laws regarding THCA, the purchase or possession of THCA could also be restricted to those over 21. Again, I’ll have links in the show notes.

Now what is HHC? Well, that’s the abbreviation for Hexa-hydro-cannabinol, the latest cannabis compound to come on the market and it’s legality is just as gray as some of these others.

It’s also synthesized from CBD - apparently, by adding hydrogen atoms to CBD – it’s intoxication effects are supposed to be lower than delta-9 THC but higher than delta-8 - I’ve read where some people call it “super intoxicating” and I imagine it depends on the person and exactly how it was derived.

Again, because this product may be considered to fall out of range of regulations since it’s derived from hemp, no one is watching how it’s made or what chemicals are being used in it’s manufacture. There could be residual solvents, metals, just like are found in delta-8 and according to some, it may even be detectible in drug tests as THC.

HHC comes in all forms just like delta-8 – vape pens, edibles, etc. Again, state laws may vary but for the most part it’s likely legal.

There’s also THCH or Tetra-hydro-cannabi-hexol – is a naturally occurring cannabinoid but in just trace amounts in the actual plant so it’s artificially isolated and somehow synthesized into this highly psychoactive THC compound that scientists discovered in 2019. It’s apparently very easy to overdo – places that sell it online even caution about it.

What about THCO – it is not a naturally occurring cannabinoid  - it’s not found naturally in the cannabis sativa plant. Instead, it’s entirely synthetic (THCO acetate) but still, derived from hemp.

It’s made by taking CBD and chemically converting it into delta-8 or even delta-9 and then adding other chemicals to come up with the final product.

Remember how I said earlier that the DEA has said delta-8 and delta-10 derived from hemp is legal at the federal level.

But about a year ago, the DEA announced that both THC-O derived from delta-8 or delta-9 which was chemically converted from CBD, are illegal controlled substances just as cannabis containing more than POINT.3% delta-9-THC is.

A lot of people thought because they said delta-8 and 10 were fine because they were derived from hemp, surely THCO would be legal as well because it was derived from delta-8 and delta-9 that were made from CBD that came from hemp! But no – the DEA says, this THCO stuff is not naturally occurring – it’s too far removed from the original plant I guess.

There is little research on this compound, but it appears that the THCO enters the brain and the acetate is supposed to wear off and allow the remaining THC to bind to the correct cannabinoid receptors. But the danger is that the acetate may not wear off and 9it could just float around in the body – there’s not been a lot of research on it and what harm it might cause.

According to some people THCO is much more potent than delta-9 THC so again, it could be easily overused.

Many of these products are sold online and I don’t think it would be at all hard to purchase it if not illegal at the federal level. And depending on your state regulations, much of it is available in vape shops and in many cases even kids under the age of 21 can purchase it.

If nothing else, maybe your teens would be concerned about the unknown chemicals found in all this stuff. The feds or states are going to have to get on the ball and start getting a little more proactive in their laws.

I will tell you this, there’s a new Farm Bill that Washington will be debating come September of this year and there will likely be changes regarding how hemp and marijuana are qualified or classified. There may be a real possibility that the percentage of delta-9 THC could increase from .3% to 1% and  still qualify as a hemp product. We’ll see what happens.

So, let me just reiterate that I don’t tell you all this to make you even more hypervigilant about weed. But I do want you to know that all of these derivative products are somehow chemically changed to become intoxicating – they are not CBD – they may be derived from CBD but they will all make you high.

I didn’t want you to assume that if it’s legally on the shelves in vape shops that it wasn’t capable of making your kid high. And honestly, between marijuana sold in a legal dispensary, regulated, and tested for trace chemicals and contaminates - and these products cooked up in some warehouse somewhere and sold in convenience stores containing God knows what, I’d take the dispensary weed any day.

But this is all just information so that you can have an informed conversation, not so you have ammunition or so you can catch your teen doing something.

Remember, don’t freak out. Get curious, look for the why, help them figure out what they need, and above all else, stay connected so you can remain influential.

That’s it for Speaking of Teens today. Thank you so much for listening and for reaching out and for your reviews – I really, really appreciate it!

And if you enjoy the show, you’ll really love Parent Camp, a community of parents learning together through the Field Guide for Teens, meeting with me weekly, learning from expert guests and more – check it out through the link at the bottom of the episode description where you’re listening.

Alright, until next time, remember, a little change goes a long way.