美国国家公共电台 NPR--Encore: States aim to regulate weed alternatives like delta-8

Encore: States aim to regulate weed alternatives like delta¹-8

Transcript²

Delta-8, a hemp³ product designed to get users high, is sometimes made with other chemicals that have made people sick. States want it regulated. (Aired on Weekend Edition Sunday on 7/30/22.)

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Hemp products, like Delta-8, are designed to get users high. And where marijuana is legal, you can find them at local stores. The products have been a lifeline for the struggling hemp industry. But federal regulators aren't monitoring what's in the products, and there's been a spike⁴ in calls to poison control centers. As Ben Paviour from VPM reports, states like Virginia are starting to crack down.

BEN PAVIOUR, BYLINE⁵: Sean Dudley turned to Delta-8 during a period of upheaval⁶ in his life last year. He just graduated college and moved to Wisconsin, far from his friends and family in Virginia. He was feeling some of the post-college funk.

SEAN DUDLEY: The post-grad depression that you kind of get. You're like, oh, I'm not in college. What am I doing? Like, being an actual adult is weird⁷.

PAVIOUR: Dudley thought marijuana might help him take his mind off it all. But it's illegal in Wisconsin, and Delta-8 edibles⁸ were everywhere.

DUDLEY: I found, ultimately, that using Delta-8 was a much more, at the time, introspective and nice experience than any time that I had used weed.

PAVIOUR: Dudley eventually moved back to Virginia, where adults are allowed to possess marijuana, and stopped using Delta-8. He says the products have their place but should be regulated.

DUDLEY: I've definitely had, like, some Delta-8 gummies where they have just hit me so hard compared to others.

PAVIOUR: It's something that Michelle Peace hears all the time. She's a lab director for forensic⁹ toxicology research at Virginia Commonwealth¹¹ University. Peace often tests Delta-8 products people send her.

MICHELLE PEACE: There's a lot of concern around these kinds of products - Lucky Charmz with a Z, Apple Jackz with a Z.

PAVIOUR: Some of those products have found their way into the hands of kids. Peace has found that labels are often inaccurate¹² and the dosing can be uneven¹³. Other researchers have found toxic¹⁰ metals. The products can be made using CBD, a chemical found in hemp plants.

PEACE: You take CBD and, with acid and time, it will convert to Delta-8 and Delta-9.

PAVIOUR: Delta-9 THC is the stuff in marijuana that gets you high. The 2018 Federal Farm Bill said hemp plants could only have a trace amount of the chemical, but it didn't say anything about other THC compounds that have a similar effect. That led to the explosion of Delta-8 products. Other concoctions¹⁴ are popping up all the time, like Delta THC-O and HHC. Peace says they can be even more potent¹⁵.

PEACE: Delta-8 is like, look at me, look at me. And there's a monster behind the bush, right?

PAVIOUR: So far, Congress hasn't taken up the issue. But states like Colorado and Oregon have passed laws banning Delta-8 products. Other states, like Texas and Kentucky, are facing lawsuits¹⁶ from the hemp industry over new restrictions¹⁷. That hasn't stopped regulators in Virginia from announcing a ban on Delta-8 products.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MATT LOHR: I want to thank all of you for your participation¹⁸ here this afternoon.

PAVIOUR: Virginia Secretary of Agriculture Matt Lohr tried to strike a friendly note with a largely hostile audience at a hemp commission meeting earlier this month.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

LOHR: And I have to say, when we took office six months ago, I had no idea that this topic of hemp and hemp extracts would be as big of a topic as it has become.

PAVIOUR: But most people at the meeting said he shouldn't have been surprised. Hemp processor Kerry McCormick said the state's new regulations only hurt small businesses.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KERRY MCCORMICK: I'm about 45 minutes from the Tennessee border. About 15 of my jobs are about to get outsourced to Tennessee. That's going to be on this committee here.

PAVIOUR: Others at the meeting argued the ban will only push people to the black market, away from producers who are making lab-tested products. And even as state regulators try to restrict Delta-8 products, it's not hard to find online sellers willing to ship it right to your door.

For NPR News, I'm Ben Paviour in Richmond.

(SOUNDBITE OF CYPRESS HILL'S "BOOM BIDDY BYE BYE (LP INSTRUMENTAL)")

1 delta   

n.（流的）角洲

参考例句：

• He has been to the delta of the Nile.他曾去过尼罗河三角洲。
• The Nile divides at its mouth and forms a delta.尼罗河在河口分岔，形成了一个三角洲。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 hemp   

n.大麻；纤维

参考例句：

• The early Chinese built suspension bridges of hemp rope.古代的中国人建造过麻绳悬索桥。
• The blanket was woven from hemp and embroidered with wool.毯子是由亚麻编织，羊毛镶边的。

4 spike   

n.长钉，钉鞋；v.以大钉钉牢，使...失效

参考例句：

• The spike pierced the receipts and held them in order.那个钉子穿过那些收据并使之按顺序排列。
• They'll do anything to spike the guns of the opposition.他们会使出各种手段来挫败对手。

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 upheaval   

n.胀起，(地壳)的隆起；剧变，动乱

参考例句：

• It was faced with the greatest social upheaval since World War Ⅱ.它面临第二次世界大战以来最大的社会动乱。
• The country has been thrown into an upheaval.这个国家已经陷入动乱之中。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 edibles   

可以吃的，可食用的( edible的名词复数 )； 食物

参考例句：

• They freely offered for sale what edibles they had. 他们很自愿地把他们的一点点可吃的东西卖给我们。
• Our edibles the wild vegetable. 我们只能吃野菜。

9 forensic   

adj.法庭的，雄辩的

参考例句：

• The report included his interpretation of the forensic evidence.该报告包括他对法庭证据的诠释。
• The judge concluded the proceeding on 10:30 Am after one hour of forensic debate.经过近一个小时的法庭辩论后，法官于10时30分宣布休庭。

10 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

11 commonwealth   

n.共和国，联邦，共同体

参考例句：

• He is the chairman of the commonwealth of artists.他是艺术家协会的主席。
• Most of the members of the Commonwealth are nonwhite.英联邦的许多成员国不是白人国家。

12 inaccurate   

adj.错误的，不正确的，不准确的

参考例句：

• The book is both inaccurate and exaggerated.这本书不但不准确，而且夸大其词。
• She never knows the right time because her watch is inaccurate.她从来不知道准确的时间因为她的表不准。

13 uneven   

adj.不平坦的，不规则的，不均匀的

参考例句：

• The sidewalk is very uneven—be careful where you walk.这人行道凹凸不平—走路时请小心。
• The country was noted for its uneven distribution of land resources.这个国家以土地资源分布不均匀出名。

14 concoctions   

n.编造，捏造，混合物( concoction的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• We bearrived scientists and tested concoctions of milk, orange juice, and mouthwash. 咱们是科技家，尝试牛奶、橙汁和漱口水的混合物。 来自互联网
• We became scientists and tested concoctions of milk, orange juice, and mouthwash. 我们是科学家，尝试牛奶、橙汁和漱口水的混合物。 来自互联网

15 potent   

adj.强有力的，有权势的；有效力的

参考例句：

• The medicine had a potent effect on your disease.这药物对你的病疗效很大。
• We must account of his potent influence.我们必须考虑他的强有力的影响。

16 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

17 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

18 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。