This is story is part of “Barely Legal,” The Assembly’s investigation into North Carolina hemp. Learn more here.
Both products we tested from Morrisville-based Naternal, which was founded by the son of former Gov. Bev Perdue, showed much less THC than the packaging promised.
Their gummies were supposed to have 10 milligrams of delta-9 and 25 mg of CBD. The test found no THC and only trace amounts of CBDA and CBG. The seltzer was supposed to have 5 mg of delta-9 and 5 mg of CBD. The test found 0.18 mg of CBG and 0.2 mg of delta-9—not nothing, but close.
Seeing those results, we decided to do an additional experiment. I had a few cans of Naternal’s seltzer left from our purchase. They came in the same order as the ones we sent to Richmond for testing.
I drank one per day for two days. On the third day, I bought an at-home drug test to see if it would register any THC.
The idea, as you’ve probably guessed, was twofold: First, to see if I felt any psychoactive effects from the drinks. Second, to see if I’d fail a urine test.
I hadn’t consumed cannabis for a long time before this, which meant that I should be very sensitive to THC and that a positive result would owe entirely to the beverage.
As to the first part: I wouldn’t say I felt nothing after drinking it. I also wouldn’t say I was high or even buzzed. A little relaxed, sure—perhaps a slight, pleasant tingle. But nothing that appreciably altered my senses. (Suffice it to say, I had sufficient faculties to write this paragraph after partaking.)
As to the second: My test came back clean.
