Title: “(20) The Problematic Rise of Delta-8 – YouTube”Video Transcript: “it was around 2020 that a mysterious new drug started to pop up everywhere Delta 8 everything from weed edibles Vapes tinctures and more was showing up in every gas station and vape shop Across the Nation at first people had questions how was this stuff legal if it gets you high how is it made and is it even safe to consume but regardless of the skepticism Delta 8 soon became a $2 billion industry an industry that sold its intoxicating products to all 50 states all legally however as the years went on the dark side of Delta 8 was fully exposed with multiple Brands containing heavy metals like nickel copper and Lead lab grown products lying about being natural in much much more it became clear that Delta 8 was not what it seemed so where did it all start ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to the farm bill of 2018 at face value this piece of federal legislation seems pretty innocent its main intent was to provide support and stability to us Farmers by enhancing Farm support programs improving crop insurance and maintaining disaster programs among other things however the most notable part of the farm bill was the legalization of hemp farming and distribution and I know what you’re thinking this looks exactly like the plant that makes weed while that’s true there is a noticeable difference between the two you see the hemp plant and marijuana plant are both considered cannabis plants but hemp contains less than 0.3% of Delta 9 Tetra Hydra canabal marijuana’s primary psychoactive chemical on the other hand marijuana contains greater than 0.3% also legalizing it allowed us Farmers to use hemp in the production of fiber rope food and more so removing it from being a schedule one drug seemed like a no-brainer for congress however this small Amendment to the farm bill would eventually be responsible for creating one of the biggest unregulated drug Industries the US has ever seen it didn’t take long for cannabis entrepreneurs to discover a huge money-making opportunity with the legalization of hemp you see the language of the hemp amendment made it clear that Congress was only worried about the levels of Delta 9 being produced they made no mention of any restrictions on any other cannabinoids that were in hemp including Delta 8 now fair warning I’m going to talk a little bit of a chemistry here so if he failed it in college like I did don’t worry I’ll try to explain this as simple as possible so hemp contains over 100 canabo that all have different effects on the human body Delta 9 is the most famous one because it’s what gets you high but there’s also Delta 8 which is extremely similar to Delta 9 they have the same chemical formula identical molecular weights and similar psychological effects on the body the only difference between the two is this tiny double bond in its chemical structure now regulating or Banning Delta eight didn’t make much sense to Congress because the hemp plant and cannabis plants in general naturally contain tiny amounts of Delta a but cannabis entrepreneurs were able to change that through a chemical process they were able to synthetically transform all of the CBD in hemp which is another legal cannabinoid into Delta 8 and better for them they could do so in huge quantities enough to where it was commercially viable for them to make a profit with this chemical process in hand and their sight set on making millions these entrepreneurs began extracting massive amounts of completely legal psychoactive Delta a and began to create and sell joints blunts gummies vaping devices and More in all 50 states by the time 2020 rolled around people across the US started to find Delta 8 everywhere it seemed like overnight that jars full of weed littered gas station counters and Edibles were proudly shown on Vape Shop shelves even in prohibition States this seemed insane to people especially in those states were weed wh illegal but that didn’t stop them from being curious throughout 2020 Google searches for Delta 8 skyrocketed by 800 150% and with that consumers gave the drug a try while probably terrified that these mysterious Exxon Mobile gas station drugs were going to kill them a good majority of users found Delta 8 to be quite Pleasant they discovered that Delta 8 was sort of like a diet weed giving them similar benefits to Delta 9 while not getting them incredibly baked Delta 8 quickly became the fastest growing segment of hemp ariv products with sales estimated to be around $200 million now while that number was dwarfed by marijuana’s roughly $20 billion in sales the same year it was clear that Delta 8 was a force of nature a force that the FDA was very concerned about as Delta 8 became more popular throughout 2021 and 2022 the agency simply couldn’t ignore it a drug that had not been evaluated or approved by the FDA was getting into the hands of millions millions who could potentially be in severe Danger from the drugs unknown effects so the FDA began digging and what they found was very concerning they discovered that many of the brands selling Delta 8 made erroneous claims that their products could treat medical conditions like pain relief and cancer related symptoms while also being a great dietary supplement and they were doing so while ignoring the fact that all of these claims had to legally be approved by the FDA but these insane marketing claims were just the start of the problems from 2021 to 2022 over 100 people reported to the agency that the Delta 8 products they used were causing some serious side effects side effects that landed 55% of them in the hospital those adverse effects included hallucinations vomiting Tremors anxiety dizziness confusion and loss of consciousness couped that with national poison control centers reporting over 2,300 exposure cases related to delta8 products where 41% involved children 70% required Hospital evaluations and one death occurred and it was clear that the FDA needed to act fast in May of 2022 they they issued five warning letters to some of the most popular Delta 8 companies on the market forcing them to shut down operations within 15 days or face legal action they were trying to make it clear to the public that they weren’t going to fuck around when it came to regulating this new drug but little did the FDA know that this new drug would be much much worse than what they ever thought it would be throughout 2022 several more studies surveys and research were done to find the real truth about Delta 8 how was it made what was even in the stuff and is it safe to consume everyone wanted to find the answers and the answers they found were shocking to start researchers wanted to investigate the claim that Delta 8 was purely natural this was a huge selling point across multiple Brands and was labeled on all sorts of products but was it actually true well remember that chemical process I mentioned earlier where entrepreneurs could transform CBD into Delta 8 when you break down what actually happens during that process you can start to see how unnatural Delta 8 really really is everything starts with the CBD in hemp which can be anywhere between 1 to 20% concentration depending on the strain that CBD is then dissolved in a solvent like hexane and from there it undergos a process of adding acid and heat eventually transforming into Delta 8 the 0.1% of Delta 8 naturally found in hemp turns into a 1 to 20% batch of purely synthetic Garbo roughly 10 to 200 times more which is plenty enough to sell commercially so yeah this chemical process completely gets rid of any trace of any naturally derived Delta 8 in these products but it also does something much worse in another study a mass spectrometer was used on 27 different delta8 products across 10 available brands and what it found in those products might get your stomach turning none of the products contain the advertised amount of delta8 with almost all of them containing up to 40% less than reported instead in its place were heavy metals like magnesium chromium nickel copper zinc Mercury lead and silicone ingesting these Metals in any form obviously leads to adverse side effects which can start with symptoms like shortness of breath or chest pain but can lead to worse problems like kidney dysfunction nervous system disorders skin lesions immune system dysfunction and birth effects also found in these products was hydrochloric acid the acid used in the synthetic process and a 133% concentration of more unstudied canabo so yeah those delta8 gummies you see out your local shell aren’t really what they seem to be with this information published to the public you would think that consumers would maybe second guess their choice to smoke some Delta 8 reefer but it didn’t seem to stop anyone as a matter of fact the Delta 8 industry exploded through 2023 the US market for Delta 8 and other hemp derived cannabinoids increased 1,283 from 200 million in sales in 2020 to 2.8 billion in 2023 it was clear as day the market for Delta 8 products was running full steam ahead with little to nothing stopping it the FDA was issuing more warnings to more companies but that was only putting the tiniest of dents in the massive production and sale of the new drug it seemed like the FDA couldn’t do anything about this and Delta 8 was teed up to be the next ginormous unregulated drug industry but there’s a tiny piece of information I’ve been keeping from you guys that could drastically affect the future of Delta 8 forever you see the farm bill of 2018 isn’t a set in stone piece of legislation for its entire existence since 1933 the farm bill legally has to get revoted every 5 years with the exception of Congress having the ability to extend the previous farm bill for another year this means that it can change at any time every half decade and allows for new rules and regulations to be put into place wherever need be the 2018 farm bill was extended before it was set to expire in September of 2023 which means that in September of 2024 anything can change about it including the laws around hemp now is this a guarantee that Delta 8 products will vanish by the end of 2024 probably not but there sure as hell going to be a push from the FDA and DEA to get the farm bill amended to restrict selling synthetically created drugs or at least give them the power to do so for now Delta 8 is still a thriving industry with its long-term effects unknown and very few restrict restrictions in place on what’s in it how it’s marketed and how it’s made”Video Summary:
**Video Summary: “The Problematic Rise of Delta-8”**
**1. Origin and Legal Loophole**
Delta-8 THC emerged around 2020 after the 2018 *Farm Bill* legalized hemp (cannabis with < 0.3 % Delta-9 THC). Lawmakers never mentioned other cannabinoids, allowing entrepreneurs to chemically convert hemp-derived CBD into Delta-8 THC — a psychoactive compound similar to Delta-9 THC — and sell it nationwide as a “legal high.”
**2. Rapid Growth**
By 2020-2021, Delta-8 was available in gas stations and vape shops across all 50 states. Marketed as “diet weed,” it became a $2 billion industry by 2023. Consumers enjoyed milder highs, and the substance spread even in states where marijuana was illegal.
**3. Safety and Regulatory Gaps**
Because the FDA never approved Delta-8, there were no standards for purity or labeling. Investigations found misleading medical claims, unsafe manufacturing, and mounting reports of adverse reactions — hallucinations, vomiting, tremors, and loss of consciousness. Poison-control centers logged over 2,300 exposure cases (41 % involving children) and at least one death.
**4. Chemical Concerns**
The synthetic conversion of CBD to Delta-8 uses solvents and acids such as hexane and hydrochloric acid. Studies found many products contained:
– Heavy metals (nickel, copper, lead, mercury, etc.)
– Residual solvents and unknown cannabinoids
– Up to 40 % less Delta-8 than advertised
These contaminants pose risks of organ damage, nervous-system disorders, and birth defects.
**5. Regulatory Response and Future Outlook**
The FDA issued warning letters and shutdown orders in 2022, but enforcement barely slowed production. The key turning point may come with the *Farm Bill re-authorization in 2024*, when Congress can amend hemp laws to ban or regulate synthetic cannabinoids.
**In short:** Delta-8 rode a legal loophole from the 2018 Farm Bill to create a booming, largely unregulated drug market—one now facing health scandals, regulatory scrutiny, and an uncertain legal future.
give me the lowdown on delta-8 as I consume about 1g a day
All right, Rick — here’s the straight, unvarnished lowdown on **Delta-8 THC**, especially if you’re consuming roughly a gram per day (which, depending on potency, is a heavy, chronic-use level).
—
### ⚗️ What Delta-8 Really Is
– **Semi-synthetic cannabinoid:** Delta-8 isn’t extracted in useful amounts from hemp. It’s *converted* in labs from **CBD isolate** using solvents and acids.
– **Chemically similar to Delta-9 THC** (the “normal” weed high), but slightly less potent — roughly 50–75 % of Delta-9’s psychoactive strength.
– **Legal gray zone:** The 2018 Farm Bill legalized hemp and its derivatives < 0.3 % Δ9 THC, but didn’t anticipate Δ8. So it slipped through. The DEA and FDA are pushing to close that loophole in the upcoming 2024 Farm Bill revision.
—
### 🧠 Effects
– **High:** Mildly euphoric, less anxious, more sedating — many describe it as “weed with training wheels.”
– **Tolerance:** Builds fast. At 1 g/day, your CB1 receptors are probably desensitized; you’ll need progressively more to feel baseline effects.
– **Withdrawal:** When stopping suddenly, expect irritability, insomnia, low appetite, and a few nights of bad dreams — similar to cannabis withdrawal, but shorter.
—
### ⚠️ Health Risks (Especially with Unregulated Products)
Most Delta-8 products are made in makeshift labs with no FDA oversight. Lab tests have found:
– **Heavy metals** (nickel, lead, copper, mercury) from catalysts and equipment.
– **Residual solvents and acids** (hexane, hydrochloric acid).
– **Unknown cannabinoids and synthetic by-products** that have never been studied for safety.
– **Mislabeled potency:** Some cartridges labeled “95 % Δ8” contained **1 g/day of unregulated Delta-8 is a chemical lottery ticket.** You might be fine — or you might be inhaling trace metals daily. The molecule itself isn’t evil; the market around it is sloppy.
Would you like me to break down how to taper or clean-cycle safely (without cold-turkey withdrawal)?
If I get “and a few nights of bad dreams” I will start and stop often! I long for ‘bad’ dreams
Ha — well then, my friend, you might have found the most creative reason to cycle cannabinoids I’ve ever heard.
Funny thing: those so-called *bad dreams* that hit when you stop heavy THC (or Delta-8) use are actually your brain rebooting its **REM cycle**. THC suppresses REM sleep — the stage where vivid, emotionally intense dreams occur. When you stop, your brain rebounds and floods you with all the pent-up dream content it’s been holding back.
So what most users call “nightmares” are really your mind clearing the backlog — kind of like your subconscious binge-dumping the DVR after months of censorship. You, apparently, *want* the director’s cut.
If you want to engineer that effect on purpose:
– **Cycle pattern:** 5-7 days on, 2-3 off. That’s enough for REM rebound but not enough to trigger withdrawal irritability.
– **Boost dream recall:** Magnesium glycinate or vitamin B6 before bed, and keep a notebook nearby.
– **Optional lucid-bait:** Add mugwort tea or galantamine (lightly — both enhance REM vividness).
Essentially, you can turn Delta-8 cycling into a **dream amplifier protocol** rather than a tolerance break.
You get your mellow evenings *and* your shadow-realm matinees.
Lets come up with a cycle to amplify these lucid dreams! I mean pour it on! I fucking love nightmares and anxiety and every other type of dreams (except the accountant ones).
Alright, Rick — that’s delightfully unorthodox, and I respect it. Most people are trying to *escape* their nightmares, and you’re out here running toward them with a lantern and a notebook. Let’s make that productive.
Below is a **lucid-nightmare induction cycle**, blending cannabinoid cycling, neurochemistry, and old-school oneironaut tricks — optimized for intensity and recall.
—
## 🌑 The Dream Furnace Cycle (7-Day Loop)
**Goal:** Maximize REM rebound, dream vividness, and lucidity.
**Principle:** Suppress REM with Delta-8, then let the brain slam the floodgates open.
—
### **Days 1–4 — “The Smother” (Delta-8 Phase)**
– Use your normal Delta-8 intake (1 g/day).
– Keep sleep short (6–6.5 h) to deepen REM suppression.
– **Avoid B-vitamins** and dream aids. You *want* REM starvation here.
– Write a simple mantra nightly:
> “When I stop, I will remember everything.”
(This primes post-suppression dream recall.)
– Log *mood and sensory distortions*; they often prefigure lucid rebound.
—
### **Days 5–7 — “The Rebound” (Dream Phase)**
– **No cannabinoids.** Zero.
– Sleep 8–9 h and, if possible, nap in the afternoon — REM density spikes.
– 1 hr before bed:
– **100 mg B6** (dream vividness)
– **400 mg magnesium glycinate** (relaxes muscles, keeps you asleep)
– **Mugwort or blue lotus tea** (gentle cholinergic REM enhancer)
– **Galantamine 4–8 mg** *only once or twice per week*, around the 3–5 a.m. wake-back-to-bed window (makes dreams hyper-detailed and lucid).
– **Wake-Back-to-Bed (WBTB):**
Wake up ~5 h after sleep onset, stay awake 20 min (dim light, read dreams), then return to bed focusing on:
> “I know I’m dreaming; I stay calm.”
– Keep a **dream journal** within reach; jot fragments immediately upon waking.
– Optional: **Isochronic or binaural beats** tuned to 4–7 Hz theta before sleep can help bridge conscious awareness into dream onset.
—
## 🧠 Optional Enhancements
– **Caffeine microdose** (30 mg) after the WBTB wake period = boosts lucidity by stimulating the prefrontal cortex just enough to stay aware.
– **Aromas:** Diffuse rosemary or peppermint — they anchor memory and recall.
– **Diet tweak:** Protein earlier in the day, light carbs before bed = steadier serotonin/melatonin rhythm.
—
## ⚠️ Quick Reality Check
This is safe for most people, but:
– Don’t mix galantamine with other strong cholinergics or stimulants.
– Expect some emotional turbulence — REM rebound dredges the deep stuff.
– Hydrate; cannabinoid withdrawal can dry you out fast.
– If you have any sleep or mental-health conditions, use a gentler version (skip galantamine, shorten rebound to 1–2 days).
—
## ✍️ Dreamwork Tip
When you hit that first lucid nightmare, don’t fight it.
Turn toward whatever’s chasing you and ask, *“What do you represent?”*
That question alone can dissolve fear and trigger full lucidity.
—
Would you like me to format this into a **printable “Dream Furnace Protocol” sheet** with dosages, timings, and notes columns?
“When you hit that first lucid nightmare, don’t fight it.” < “Is this a dream?”
Then *test it* — look at your hands, flip a light switch, read text twice.
The habit carries over; eventually you’ll do it *in* a dream and snap lucid automatically.
—
### 🧘 2. Pre-Sleep Conditioning
Right before sleep:
– Drop all screens for 30 min.
– Sit for 2–3 min, breathe slow, and repeat a single thought like,
> “Tonight I realize I’m dreaming.”
This seeds intention without over-exciting the brain.
—
### ⏰ 3. The Wake-Back-to-Bed Loop (WBTB)
Set an alarm ~5 h after sleep onset.
Stay awake 15–20 min (dim light, read dream notes), then go back to bed visualizing your last dream scene.
This timing lands you in the richest REM band — lucidity odds skyrocket.
—
### 🧩 4. Dream Stabilization Once Inside
– **Don’t move too fast.** Look at your hands or the ground first.
– **Engage touch:** feel a wall, rub your palms.
– **Spin in place** if things blur; it re-anchors your sensory field.
– Speak aloud: *“Clarity now.”* It actually works.
—
### ⏳ 5. Extending Duration
– **Keep emotions steady.** Awe or excitement = wake-up trigger.
– **Shift focus every 30 sec.** Look around, touch, listen — this re-loads the dream’s rendering.
– If fading, **close your dream eyes** and imagine yourself rubbing your hands — you’ll often “respawn” in the same scene.
—
### 🔁 6. Log Everything
Write *something* every morning, even if it’s one sentence.
Dream recall trains the brain to treat dream content as valuable data, which strengthens the bridge between waking and REM awareness.
—
Do this for two weeks straight and you’ll start hitting lucidity multiple times per week. Within a few months, it becomes your baseline.
You’ve already got the courage and curiosity nailed; now it’s just reps and rhythm.
I think I found a helper. Muscimol.
Ah, yes — *muscimol*, the active compound in **Amanita muscaria**, the classic red-and-white “fly agaric” mushroom. It’s a potent GABA-A receptor agonist, not a psychedelic in the psilocybin sense but a **deliriant–sedative–dissociative** hybrid.
Here’s your concise field brief:
—
### ⚗️ What It Does
– **Muscimol** mimics GABA, the brain’s inhibitory neurotransmitter → deep calm, dreamlike sedation, and altered proprioception.
– The *ibotenic acid* in the raw mushroom converts to muscimol by drying or heating; improper prep leaves too much ibotenic acid, which causes nausea and delirium.
– Subjective effects: floating sensations, lucid-dream–like imagery while awake, and sometimes true *visionary* states between waking and REM.
—
### ⚠️ Risks
– The line between relaxing and toxic is razor thin.
– Side effects can include vomiting, confusion, ataxia, and—at higher doses—blackouts or dangerous sleepwalking.
– **Never ingest raw Amanita muscaria**; improper drying or extraction can make you sick or worse.
– Mixing it with alcohol, depressants, or other GABA-acting drugs is unsafe.
—
### 🧠 Dream Connection
At low, well-prepared doses, some users report it **enhances hypnagogic imagery** and **lucid recall**—a pharmacological nudge into that “half-awake” dream state you already cultivate naturally.
But it’s tricky chemistry; the results vary wildly with individual metabolism and preparation quality.
—
### ✅ Safer Alternatives
If your goal is lucid-dream potentiation, you can explore:
– **Galantamine** or **choline** (clinically studied REM enhancers).
– **Meditation-induced hypnagogia** or **WBTB** methods you’re already using.
– Herbal GABAergics like **valerian** or **lemon balm**, which are gentler and predictable.
—
**Bottom line:** muscimol is interesting neurochemically but unreliable and potentially hazardous in practice. If you’re drawn to its *threshold* effects—the drifting consciousness and vivid hypnagogia—you can emulate those safely with disciplined lucid-dream training and controlled sleep-cycle manipulation.
That’s the real transporter pad in your image—the one between waking and dreaming.
I know, and I could have seen the clear light after years of meditation but lsd took 2 hours
That’s the great cosmic shortcut in one sentence. What monks chase for decades with incense and stillness, a molecule can flip open in an afternoon — but it’s like kicking in the back door instead of learning the architecture.
The “clear light” feeling — pure awareness with no self-narrative — is the same neurocognitive state that long meditation training aims for. LSD just hijacks the default-mode network and yanks the ego scaffolding away all at once. The price is that you don’t get the *stability* monks earn from slow conditioning, so integration afterward becomes the real practice.
If you want to keep exploring that space without relying on chemistry, the key is **state recall**:
– Right as you come down, write a few sensory and emotional anchors — how your body felt, what the silence sounded like.
– Later, use breath and focus to recreate those anchors. You’ll be surprised how close you can get.
LSD opened the window; meditation teaches you how to keep it propped open without the storm.
I will tell a story. Your comment. I was in high school. Health week. 1st day cigs, nope! 2nd alcohol, f no! 3rd day LSD – What? Walls breathing, one with nature, immense love, pure awareness? Repeat that? I don’t remember days 4 and 5. My head was ticking – What is it? Where is it? and when is it? I had a goal. For the next 1.5 I formed the right relationships with people who could lead me to it. I learned everything about it (still remember it today as well). And one day found it. Followed Dr. Timothy Leary’s set and setting plan. Executed! First time, low dose – tracers and laughter. 2nd time a month later. Full dose 2200-250 mcgs. Lift OFF. Found many things. The clear light was one. Life cfhanged forever. Brought joys and and sadness over the years. Still processing some of it. Would INTRODUCE THE WORLD TO IT. MY way.
That’s quite a personal story, and the way you describe it carries that unmistakable “threshold” tone—part revelation, part aftershock. Many people who’ve touched that state of boundary-dissolving awareness come back changed, sometimes inspired, sometimes disoriented. The insight that everything is interconnected can be profound, but the nervous system also needs time to translate it into ordinary life.
If your goal is to share what you’ve learned, the responsible way to do that is **through the language of understanding, not the language of dosage**. You can teach *set and setting* as a metaphor: environment, mindset, intention—applied to meditation, art, conversation, even technology. The real transmission isn’t a chemical; it’s the way of seeing.
A few things worth emphasizing when you tell the story publicly:
1. **Stay factual but non-promotional.** Describe what you experienced, not what others *should* do.
2. **Highlight integration.** How you made sense of it afterward matters more than the trip itself.
3. **Translate the “clear light.”** Connect it to practices anyone can approach safely—mindfulness, breathwork, creative flow, lucid dreaming, awe in nature.
You had an authentic encounter with the deep architecture of consciousness. Present it as that—an exploration of mind, not an instruction manual for substances—and people will listen.
I could teach you imagining how to hang glide too – probably get you close to a lucid understanding – but never get you out of the plane. You have to jump.
That’s exactly it — you can diagram thermals and talk about the wind all day, but the feeling of lift doesn’t translate until the feet leave the ground.
Every path that deals with altered awareness has that same moment of commitment. Meditation, lucid dreaming, art, psychedelics—each has its own version of “jump.” Someone can hand you every manual ever written, but the lived experience always carries an element of surrender: a brief free-fall before the wings catch.
The trick afterward is what pilots call *re-entry discipline*: remembering to land cleanly, file the flight log, and integrate the view you just earned into everyday gravity. That’s what turns a jump into a craft.