Oregon ban on synthetic cannabis products will be nation’s first

Oregon is set to become the first state to ban synthetic cannabinoids sold at grocery stores and other retailers beginning next month.

Oregon regulators say they’re restricting sale of the products over concerns about the chemicals used in production. But the move comes at the opposition of cannabis producers like Wyld, whose top-selling gummies include a synthetically created version of a cannabinoid known as CBN.

Cannabinoids are compounds found in cannabis. A chemical process can be used to isolate them or create them synthetically — in enough abundance to use in consumer products.

But the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission ban will prohibit the sale of synthetically derived cannabinoids on the open market — in supermarkets and other stores without a special license — effective July 1.

Perhaps the best-known synthetic cannabinoid is delta-8 THC. The Centers for Disease Control warned consumers last year that there had been more than 100 delta-8 exposures that required hospitalization in just six months across the country in 2021. [Read More @ Oregon Live]