Alabama grandfather pleads for FDA ban on Delta-8 THC products
A local grandfather is urging the FDA to ban Delta-8 THC products, citing their harmful effects on his grandson and others.”It’s killing our, our, our country. It’s killing our future,” Mason Dunn said.Dunn claims Delta-8 vapes are ruining his grandson’s life. He told WVTM 13 that while the 22-year-old was recently living with him, he experienced severe behavioral changes.”Have these fits of rage, start busting everything in the house, and there’s nobody there to talk to him or help him. And he just tore my house up on three occasions,” Dunn said.He blames the violent outbursts on the Delta-8 THC vapes his grandson was smoking.”It’s like dealing with the devil himself when he’s on it. Prior to that, he’s the sweetest, loving young man. You make me tear up,” Dunn said.Since 2021, poison centers across the country have recorded more than 9,000 Delta-8 THC encounters. The product, commonly known as “marijuana mild,” is widely available.WVTM 13 found legal vapes and gummies at three of the five Shelby County gas stations visited.”It can cause you to hallucinate, it can cause you to hyperventilate,” said Lt. Shane Plyler, who runs COMPACT, an agency combating youth drug abuse in Shelby County.Plyler and investigator Jamelle Allen have seen Delta-8 impacts firsthand and argue there are too many unknowns to trust what you’re buying.”As far as the FDA is concerned, there is no real regulation to this stuff, and that’s what makes a lot of it extremely dangerous,” Allen said.However, B.J. Autry claims not all Delta-8 products are the same. He said the gummies sold in his CBD stores come straight from the hemp plant and are not mixed with synthetic chemicals, which cause unpredictable reactions.”Where you’re going to come and get medicinal effects and you’re not going to get like an inebriated out of your mind, or you don’t know how you got where you’re at and all that good stuff,” Autry said.Plyler feels Delta-8 vapes and gummies are one of the biggest health risks facing Alabama teens today and predicts there is work underway to close the loopholes allowing its sale at neighborhood stores.”I think in the future, you’re going to see the FDA catch up and say, no, this is now a schedule one controlled substance, just like marijuana, and it’s going to be illegal,” Plyler said.Last year, Alabama set the minimum age to buy Delta-8 at 21 and required manufacturers to make packaging less appealing to kids. But Dunn wants the state and federal government to go further.”If there’s someone with power and authority to outlaw this. My message is please, please take it out of the hands of the people selling it,” Dunn said.Until then, his message for those seeking a high from a Delta-8 vape is clear.”When I was 22, I partied a lot and everything, too. But this is not partying. This is partying with a death wish,” Dunn said.Dunn says his grandson is receiving treatment to wean him off Delta-8 products.He and the law enforcement agents urge parents to find out what their teen is vaping before it is too late.
A local grandfather is urging the FDA to ban Delta-8 THC products, citing their harmful effects on his grandson and others.
“It’s killing our, our, our country. It’s killing our future,” Mason Dunn said.
Dunn claims Delta-8 vapes are ruining his grandson’s life. He told WVTM 13 that while the 22-year-old was recently living with him, he experienced severe behavioral changes.
“Have these fits of rage, start busting everything in the house, and there’s nobody there to talk to him or help him. And he just tore my house up on three occasions,” Dunn said.
He blames the violent outbursts on the Delta-8 THC vapes his grandson was smoking.
“It’s like dealing with the devil himself when he’s on it. Prior to that, he’s the sweetest, loving young man. You make me tear up,” Dunn said.
Since 2021, poison centers across the country have recorded more than 9,000 Delta-8 THC encounters. The product, commonly known as “marijuana mild,” is widely available.
WVTM 13 found legal vapes and gummies at three of the five Shelby County gas stations visited.
“It can cause you to hallucinate, it can cause you to hyperventilate,” said Lt. Shane Plyler, who runs COMPACT, an agency combating youth drug abuse in Shelby County.
Plyler and investigator Jamelle Allen have seen Delta-8 impacts firsthand and argue there are too many unknowns to trust what you’re buying.
“As far as the FDA is concerned, there is no real regulation to this stuff, and that’s what makes a lot of it extremely dangerous,” Allen said.
However, B.J. Autry claims not all Delta-8 products are the same. He said the gummies sold in his CBD stores come straight from the hemp plant and are not mixed with synthetic chemicals, which cause unpredictable reactions.
“Where you’re going to come and get medicinal effects and you’re not going to get like an inebriated out of your mind, or you don’t know how you got where you’re at and all that good stuff,” Autry said.
Plyler feels Delta-8 vapes and gummies are one of the biggest health risks facing Alabama teens today and predicts there is work underway to close the loopholes allowing its sale at neighborhood stores.
“I think in the future, you’re going to see the FDA catch up and say, no, this is now a schedule one controlled substance, just like marijuana, and it’s going to be illegal,” Plyler said.
Last year, Alabama set the minimum age to buy Delta-8 at 21 and required manufacturers to make packaging less appealing to kids. But Dunn wants the state and federal government to go further.
“If there’s someone with power and authority to outlaw this. My message is please, please take it out of the hands of the people selling it,” Dunn said.
Until then, his message for those seeking a high from a Delta-8 vape is clear.
“When I was 22, I partied a lot and everything, too. But this is not partying. This is partying with a death wish,” Dunn said.
Dunn says his grandson is receiving treatment to wean him off Delta-8 products.
He and the law enforcement agents urge parents to find out what their teen is vaping before it is too late.