Eh, kind of but not really. This is where it starts to get complicated and where I’m out of my chemical depth.
While (some) cannabis does contain at least trace amounts of many of these compounds, essentially all of the intoxicating cannabinoids produced other than (most of the) delta-9 are actually semi-synthetic, originating from hemp-extracted CBD. Now, as long as the product of the reaction (IIRC, isomerizarion involving heat and something like citric acid) is pure, the fact that it was synthetically produced does not in and of itself make that resulting compound unsafe. Where it gets hairy is the fact that even delta-9 remains poorly studied today thanks to over five decades of prohibition, and we have basically no idea what ingesting large quantities of any one of these 100+ minor (think something on the order of <1% in the average plant) cannabinoids is actually doing to our bodies.
The real issue, though, is that the lack of any regulatory oversight whatsoever allows shady, greedy distributors to cut an already dirt cheap product with even cheaper and potentially deadly chemicals like vitamin K. You’ll likely hear a disproportionately loud amount of “delta-8 bad” talk (and I’m not trying to promote its use, either) but the most serious harm probably has less to do with the compound itself and more to do with such toxic adulterants. That said, scientifically studied or not, there are reputable and entirely legal sources for many of these substances, although they aren’t necessarily gas stations.
So like keeping sugar illegal but legalizing all the artificial sweetners.
Eh, kind of but not really. This is where it starts to get complicated and where I’m out of my chemical depth.
While (some) cannabis does contain at least trace amounts of many of these compounds, essentially all of the intoxicating cannabinoids produced other than (most of the) delta-9 are actually semi-synthetic, originating from hemp-extracted CBD. Now, as long as the product of the reaction (IIRC, isomerizarion involving heat and something like citric acid) is pure, the fact that it was synthetically produced does not in and of itself make that resulting compound unsafe. Where it gets hairy is the fact that even delta-9 remains poorly studied today thanks to over five decades of prohibition, and we have basically no idea what ingesting large quantities of any one of these 100+ minor (think something on the order of <1% in the average plant) cannabinoids is actually doing to our bodies.
The real issue, though, is that the lack of any regulatory oversight whatsoever allows shady, greedy distributors to cut an already dirt cheap product with even cheaper and potentially deadly chemicals like vitamin K. You’ll likely hear a disproportionately loud amount of “delta-8 bad” talk (and I’m not trying to promote its use, either) but the most serious harm probably has less to do with the compound itself and more to do with such toxic adulterants. That said, scientifically studied or not, there are reputable and entirely legal sources for many of these substances, although they aren’t necessarily gas stations.