Ohio issues consumer warning about Delta-8 THC products and packaging

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WKBN) – Distributors of an unregulated cannabis product are drawing the ire of Ohio State authorities and the Ohio Department of Commerce’s Division of Cannabis Control (DCC).

DCC issued a consumer warning on Thursday about cannabis products containing delta-8 THC with packaging designed to appeal to children. The Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission have already sent cease-and-desist letters to five companies for using packaging that mimics foods popular with young children.

The letter calls on the companies to immediately stop marketing the product to children, DCC wrote in a press release.

The problem with Delta-8 and other hemp products is that they are unregulated and some of them can be intoxicating. DCC said some children have become ill and some have had to be hospitalized.

Current Ohio law does not prevent the sale of intoxicating cannabis products, even to children. Governor Mike DeWine wants the products off the shelves, and state officials are urging the General Assembly to pass laws to control sales and marketing.

“As the department prepares to introduce non-medical cannabis products that meet our highest testing and safety standards, we must ensure that dangerous, unregulated products like Delta-8 are removed from circulation. The packaging of these products can make them look like candy and there are no testing requirements for the products themselves, leaving Ohio consumers, especially children, unable to know exactly what they are buying, which is extremely dangerous,” said DCC Superintendent Jim Canepa.

Products regulated by DCC and sold to adults are different from common retail hemp products or those containing delta-8 THC. Adults who purchase a product from an Ohio licensee will see the DCC on the packaging.