MONTGOMERY COUNTY (KYW Newsradio) — A trade group that represents manufacturers of Delta-8 THC edibles says they want to reassure people their products are safe. Their comments come two weeks after the Montgomery County district attorney said THC edibles might have been tainted with fentanyl, leading to two overdoses.
“We want to make sure that there's no mistaking that our products are safe, and that every step necessary to make sure that it's safe is taken,” said attorney David Bigney, who represents the American Healthy Alternatives Association, which includes hemp, cannabis, and Delta-8 THC manufacturers, packagers and wholesalers.
Bigney said Delta-8 THC products that have the AHAA label on them are produced and packaged under strict standards: “Any product from American Healthy Alternatives Association has been through the most vigorous testing in the industry.”
On Feb. 24, D.A. Kevin Steele announced hemp-derived Delta-8 THC edibles were suspected in causing fentanyl for two people. Both said they hadn’t ingested anything other than over-the-counter Delta-8 THC edibles, according to Steele. He said the National Guard tested several brands of Delta-8 THC edibles with very sensitive scanners and found the presence of other illegal narcotics, including fentanyl.
But three days later, Steele’s office said lab tests of edibles did not find levels of fentanyl to trigger a positive result based on the lab's threshold.
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Bigney said that update makes him question the results of the original tests.
“One thing we know is it wasn't in the manufacturing stage of our product, it wasn't in the packaging, or labeling or distribution,” he said.
“Where did it come from? Your guess is as good as mine. It just didn't come from our manufacturer.”
During his initial announcement, Steele made it clear the investigation was in its very early stages, and he did not rule out the possibility of tampering with the product after packaging or shipping. He also said they did test some Delta-8 THC products that did not show signs of other drugs.