Texas Officials Warn That Spiked CBD Products Are Being Sold In Stores
HOUSTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — The boom of products containing the cannabis extract CBD continues, and while stores selling the goods are popping up all across Texas officials say the products don't always contain what they promise.
James Miller at the Houston Forensic Science Center says people are using CBD to sell illegal drugs. Last year alone his lab found dangerous synthetic marijuana in about two dozen CBD vape samples.
The Associated Press gathered the results for an investigation into how some operators are capitalizing on the CBD boom by substituting the cheap street drug for real CBD.
That practice has sent dozens of people nationwide to emergency rooms. Unlike CBD, synthetic marijuana gives an intense high.
In all, lab testing shows spiked vapes or edible products marketed as CBD in at least 13 states.
Industry representatives acknowledge spiking is an issue, but say many companies are reputable.
Governor Greg Abbott signed House Bill 1325 into law in June. It legalized industrial hemp production authorized possession of the cannabis as long as the THC [the psychoactive compound in marijuana] concentration is 0.3 percent or less.
(© Copyright 2019 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)