notes that because emerging drugs cannot be included in surveys until (typically several years) after initial use by the public, social media is more suited for the identification of rising interest in emerging drugs and the observation of fine-grained trends in real time.

Surveys have limitations such as low response rates and time delays between data collection and data availability whereas social media is collected in real time and can therefore provide more up-to-date information on emerging trends. Social media can be an important data source to understand emergent health behavior not captured by traditional public health surveillance systems.

Use of Delta-8 THC is a risk, especially given its lack of regulation, wide availability, and questionable legality (Wenzke, 2021). Most Delta-8 products are sold at smoke shops and gas stations and not controlled by a state-licensed cannabis system. There are few studies on the potential adverse effects of Delta-8 THC on humans when vaped, smoked, or eaten. As of 2021, these states included Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, and Utah (Vaper Whole Supply, 2021). Some states have stepped in to enforce their own rules about cannabinoids and have explicitly banned Delta-8 THC. Both producers and retailers have seen Delta-8 THC’s quasi-legal status as an opportunity to supply a market for individuals who want to “get high” legally (Fletcher, 2020). Therefore, producers extract Delta-8 from hemp at such high levels that the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) considers it to be synthetically produced and, consequently, under its enforcement. However, Delta-8 THC only occurs naturally in very small amounts within CBD.

Thus, Delta-8 THC derived from CBD is federally legal. The 2018 Farm Bill reclassified hemp, removing it from the list of controlled substances and allowing the sale of hemp products in states where cannabis is illegal (Richtel, 2021). Delta-8 THC is packaged as vaping cartridges (informally called “carts”), edibles, and tinctures at recreational and medical dispensaries the products are sold at gas stations, vape shops, and at online retailers, often at inflated prices (Richtel, 2021 SF Weekly, 2021 Zhang, 2021).ĭelta-8 THC is derived from cannabidiol (CBD), and CBD can be extracted from hemp (Leafly, 2021). It has a similar psychotropic effect on the brain as the more common and federally illegal Delta-9 THC and is commonly referred to as “weed light” with users reporting less intense effects and less paranoia than Delta-9 THC (Lyden, 2021). Reddit is a valuable tool to identify novel cannabis and cannabis-related products and their potential misuse and health effectsĭelta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a cannabinoid that has recently grown exponentially in popularity across the United States (Fletcher, 2020). Users post often on Delta-8 use, sharing health concerns and brand recommendations Popular topics on social media platform Reddit reflect consumer interest in Delta-8 THC products and sales contexts Monitoring social media platforms like Reddit can help FDA achieve its regulatory and consumer protection goals for emerging cannabis products.ĭelta-8 THC has grown in exponential popularity across the United States Given the lack of regulation and testing, questionable legality, and the product’s wide availability at retail and online locations, Delta-8 products should be a concern for health officials. Most frequently, discussions were about available products, locations for purchase, overall safety and legality, reactions to the product, and general experiences. Approximately 57,913 Reddit posts were collected from 11,333 unique users across 708 subreddits. We identified the names of popular subreddits, trends in post volume, and frequent topic phrases for Delta-8. We collected publicly available Reddit posts of Delta-8 from January 2020 through April 2021 using Brandwatch, a commercially available social media listening platform. Using social media platform Reddit, we examined users’ reported experiences with Delta-8. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has expressed the need for novel data sources to understand the use of products like Delta-8 and rapidly detect potential safety issues. Delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is a newly popular cannabinoid that can be purchased easily at gas stations, vape shops, and online retailers in most regions of the United States.

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