This story is part 1 of “Barely Legal,” The Assembly’s investigation into North Carolina hemp. Learn more here.
The Laboratory for Forensic Toxicology Research performed what’s called an untargeted analysis to identify dozens of chemical compounds in each product. Some of them you’d expect to find, like cannabinoids. Several gummies contained glycerin, a carbohydrate used to retain moisture. The brownie had caffeine and theobromine, both inherent to chocolate.
Others might sound worse than they are. Most of the gummies contained furfuryl alcohol, an industrial solvent and possible carcinogen. But it’s also found in coffee, baked goods, and other foods, and research on its health risks has focused more on inhalation than on ingesting trace amounts.
That’s true of many chemicals the testing identified—especially in products designed to be eaten.
“Very little is understood about any of these, and particularly the manner in which we are consuming them,” lab director Michelle Peace said. “Regularly consuming it in these microdoses has not really been assessed that well.”
Products that are smoked or vaped present other concerns. Cannabis smoke contains many of the same carcinogens as cigarettes. Vapes can also wreak havoc on frequent or long-term users, albeit in different ways. Some of their risks stem from what manufacturers add to vape juice.
“If we find a vape that’s 75% THC,” Peace said, “the question is, what is the 25%?”
Peace said she frequently tests vapes with flavoring additives and medium-chain triglycerides, which are fats found in coconut oil that are used to dissolve THC. They’re safe to ingest, but they cause respiratory problems and lung damage when inhaled, which has led several states to ban them in vapes. None of the vapes we had tested contained those or the specific additives Peace mentioned.
Peace said that many vape manufacturers also add terpenes, naturally occurring hydrocarbons that give plants their aromas. Cannabis has 146 known terpenes, some of which are thought to have health benefits and enhance psychoactive effects.
Vapes often contain terpenes at much higher doses than the plant itself, which can become a health hazard, Peace said. All of the vapes we tested had these terpenes, but the tests couldn’t determine if they had enough of them to cause harm.
