The Blue Ridge Poison Center at UVA Health is fielding a significant influx of calls over adverse reactions to a substance derived from hemp and marijuana plants.
Delta-8 THC comes from those plants or can be created synthetically. It’s similar to the active ingredient in marijuana and is available for sale legally in Virginia.
Chris Holstege is the center’s medical director, and he says edibles are driving the spike in calls.
“We have seen a few that have been smoked. But the edibles – they’re geared towards kids," he explains. "They have packages that look like Skittles, NERD Ropes – a number of different things that we’ve seen.”
The center fielded about 20 calls two years ago. Between July 2021 and June of this year, that number ballooned to more than 100.
37 of those calls were among children. Holstege worries about that – as the substance is unregulated.
“We just don’t know what these do to the human brain, right? These haven’t been studied – it really worries me," he says. "I’m a toxicologist – I don’t want to put things in my body that I don’t know what they do.”
He recommends calling the poison center if a child consumes any Delta-8 product. A call is also warranted for any adult that exhibits symptoms like a racing heart, an altered mental state or unresponsiveness.
You can reach the Blue Ridge Poison Center at 1-800-222-1222.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
