Unsuspecting cannabis users warned of 'toxic' synthetic versions of the drug
Pa/pa Products, And Jellies, Picture: Seized In Wire Recent Gardai Years Customs Cannabis Including Of Increased Have Amounts
Unsuspecting cannabis users are being warned that some deals they are buying are being sprayed with “toxic” synthetic versions of the drug, posing greater health risks.
Separately, EU health experts are alerting cannabis users to extremely strong cannabis resin in circulation, with average strength almost twice that of cannabis herb, which used to be more potent.
The European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (Emcdda) also said that cannabis products were becoming “increasingly diverse”, including extracts and edibles, with high content of THC, the active substance.
Gardai and Customs have seized increased amounts of cannabis products, including jellies, in recent years.
In its European Drug Report 2022, the Emcdda also confirms the ongoing rise in the production and trafficking of cocaine into the EU, with quantities seized again breaking records – with 213 tonnes confiscated in 2020.
Agency director Alexis Goosdeel said he was “particularly worried” by reports they had received about the adulteration of cannabis products with synthetic cannabinoids.
The report said 15 new synthetic cannabinoids were identified in 2021, bringing to 224 the number of such chemicals being monitored.
It said criminal gangs were adulterating low-grade herb or resin with synthetic cannabinoids – chemicals with a similar, but stronger effect.
“Potent synthetic cannabinoids can cause more intense intoxication and mental, physical and behavioural effects than cannabis, with severe and fatal poisoning being reported,” the report said.
It said people may unknowingly consume “high doses” of synthetic cannabinoids because those adulterating natural cannabis products may use imprecise manufacturing processes, resulting in the adulterants being “unevenly distributed” throughout the product.
“This can result in products containing toxic amounts of synthetic cannabinoids and concentrated pockets of the substances within products,” it said.
The report said criminals were most likely adulterating cannabis products to “maximise profits”, saying THC industrial hemp was cheap and similar in appearance to illicit cannabis herb.
“This makes it easy to deceive dealers and users, while only a small quantity of synthetic cannabinoid powder is required to give strong cannabis-like effects,” it said.
“Available information indicates that some people who used these adulterated products believed that they had purchased natural cannabis. They were unaware that the products they were consuming contained potent synthetic cannabinoids.” The report said monitoring this trend was complicated as the presence of synthetic cannabinoids in cannabis samples will not be detected unless forensic analysis is performed.
Last month, HSE clinical lead on addiction Dr Eamon Keenan, expressed concern at cannabis herb and edibles being laced with synthetic cannabinoids.
He said these chemicals had been found by Forensic Science Ireland in cannabis herb for the first time this year.
HSE concern around synthetic cannabinoids was also shared in relation new synthetic cathinones – stimulant chemicals – which are being sold as ecstasy to unsuspecting users.
Separately, the report documents a sharp rise in the THC potency of cannabis resin, traditionally weaker than cannabis herb.
“Currently, the average THC content of resin (21 %) is almost twice that of herbal cannabis, which is typically around 11 %,” it said. “This is a reversal of a trend seen in the past, when the THC content of herbal cannabis was typically higher than that of resin.” It said resin producers, usually located outside of the EU, appear to have responded to competition from domestically produced herbal cannabis.
The report said there was “increasing diversity” in the range of cannabis products available in Europe, with extracts and edibles with a high THC content appearing on the drug market.
These include the likes of cannabis-infused jellies, which have been regularly seized by gardaí and customs in recent years.
The Emccda said that cannabis-related problems also appear “more significant” in its monitoring data with the drug featuring prominently in both drug-related presentations to emergency services and new drug treatment demands.
The Health Research Board, which provided the Irish data for the report, said that almost 14% of 15-34 year-olds used cannabis in the year prior to its 2019/2020 national prevalence survey.
This compares to the EU average of 15.5%, with rates above 20% found in Czechia (Czech Republic), France, Croatia and Italy.
HRB figures show the number of new cases of people seeking treatment for cannabis has fluctuated in recent years, dropping between 2015 and 2017 (from 1,693 to 1,272), before increasing to 1,505 in both 2018 and 2019. It then fell to 1,338 in 2020, before rising again in 2021, to 1,479.
The Emcdda report said more EU member states were developing recreational cannabis policies.
“In December 2021, Malta legislated for home growing and cannabis use in private, alongside non-profit communal growing clubs, for recreational purposes,” it said.
“Luxembourg is planning to permit home growing, while in Germany and non-EU Switzerland there are discussions about the possibility of setting up systems to permit legal cannabis sales for recreational use.” It said the Netherlands (where coffee shops, supplied by criminal gangs, have been able to sell cannabis to customers) was piloting a model for a “closed cannabis supply chain” for cannabis coffeeshops.
It said most EU countries now allow the medical use of cannabis or cannabinoids in some form, but that models varied considerably (with Ireland, so far, operating a restricted system).
“Currently, large companies that grow and sell cannabis in Canada are also cultivating in Europe and supplying medicinal cannabis products to some EU Member States,” the report said.
It said that a 2022 European Commission Eurobarometer showed that seven in ten respondents think cannabis should be available for medical use.
“The expansion of the legal cannabis trade in Europe is evidenced by the registrations of cannabis plant varieties, product trademarks, hectares of hemp grown and applications for novel food products,” the report said.
It said shops selling low-THC cannabis products, including foods, cosmetics and herbal smoking materials, now exist in many EU member states.
In 2020, the European Court of Justice stated that plant-derived CBD (found in cannabis) was not a ‘drug’, as the current scientific understanding of this substance was that it does not have psychoactive properties.
“The implications of this are unclear, but it could potentially be interpreted, provided regulatory conditions are met, that CBD may be used as an ingredient in some commercial products,” the report said.
COCAINE
Elsewhere, the Emcdda report states that drug availability “remains at high levels” across the EU and that cocaine availability exceeds levels pre-Covid 19, reflected in seizure and treatment figures.
It said 213 tonnes of cocaine were seized in 2020, breaking the record set in 2019 (202 tonnes).
In addition, 23 cocaine manufacturing laboratories were discovered in the EU in 2020, compared to 15 in 2019.
In Ireland, as reported on Monday, cocaine has overtaken heroin as the main drug people are entering treatment for - which HRB experts said may mark a “tipping point” in Irish addiction trends.
On Irish seizures, the HRB quoted data from Forensic Science Ireland, which said they recorded 1,994 seizures of cocaine in 2020, the second highest after cannabis.
The Emcdda also said “potent and hazardous” substances were continuing to appear and that the actual production of synthetic drugs was increasing in Europe.
“The continued escalation of synthetic drug production within the EU shows us the relentless drive by organised crime groups to profit from the illegal drugs trade, placing public health and security at risk,” said European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson.
She said it was of “particular concern” that the partnerships between European and international criminal networks had given rise to “record availability and industrial scale methamphetamine manufacturing within Europe”.
Mr Goosdeel added: “The take home message from this report can be summarised in three words: Everywhere, Everything, Everyone. Established drugs have never been so accessible and potent new substances continue to emerge.”