What are kratom and delta 8, and why are medical professionals sounding the alarm?
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — They call it gas station weed — plant-based supplements or medicines known as kratom and delta 8.
They're not illegal, but they also are not regulated or approved for consumption or use. And health officials say they're being abused by younger and younger users, including in some cases with dire consequences.
You can't help but see the signs at vape shops, gas stations and convenience stores. Names like kratom, delta 8 and THCa — a wide array of supplements or medicines on which little research has been conducted. But if you're 21 years old, you can buy any of them over the counter, no questions asked.
Proponents say they calm anxiety, reduce pain and may give you a pleasant buzz. However, new and alarming evidence shows some of these products are addictive while others have sparked psychotic and violent episodes in some users. And addiction counselors are concerned that younger and younger people are experimenting with all of them.
Dr. Brayden Kameg, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh's School of Nursing, says "We're seeing teenagers and adolescents seeking these out, and they're largely able to do so petty easily. I'll ask patients what they're using, as it relates to these over-the-counter products, and they don't even know."
Of all of these products, the most popular is kratom, which is a plant grown in Southeast Asia that users say is good for pain, depression and opioid withdrawal. However, the Food and Drug Administration warns kratom is highly addictive and can cause severe anxiety.
The FDA is also raising new concerns about the hemp-based extract known as delta 8. At Vapor Galleria on the South Side, Pamela and Gary McBurney sell delta 8 you can chew, vape or in delta 8-infused honey. They call delta 8 a natural substance that relieves pain and helps people with insomnia.
Says Pamela McBurney: "I myself use it for sleep. I'm one of those people where I cannot shut down my brain. Instead of drinking alcohol, which I prefer not to do, I take a delta 8 gummy and sleep all the way through the night. "
The FDA reports some delta 8 users have experienced severe anxiety, hallucinations, dizziness and a loss of consciousness. A recent study by the University of Alabama at Birmingham detailed cases where people who vaped or ate delta 8 became psychotic and violent. This included people who never had experienced a psychotic episode before and another who had.
University of Alabama at Birmingham psychiatrist Chelsea Miller said: "His mother had given him some gummies to help him sleep and it induced a violent psychotic episode. And he had otherwise been very controlled for a long time, and since he has not used delta 8, he's been stable and is back to his baseline."
In Pittsburgh, Pitt student Jasper Hilliard is set to stand trial, accused of randomly attacking and repeatedly stabbing Al Carlson in Shadyside last June. When he was arrested, Hilliard told police he had smoked delta 8 and the synthetic marijuana K-2.
Researchers say little is known about how delta 8 impacts brain receptors or byproducts created in its production.
"It's not regulated," Miller said. "So, you don't know about the purity of the substance. And I think that's the biggest thing here is that people need more education, that even though something is freely available to you it doesn't mean that makes it safe."