Life

Do Your Weed Brownies Actually Have Weed In Them?

by Eliza Castile

June 24, 2015

As any person with food allergies can tell you, the only way to know exactly what goes into your food is to make it yourself. Apparently, the same goes even for your weed brownies, because according to a recent study, medical marijuana edibles are totally mislabeled the majority of the time. So... basically, if you've gotten high off of any marijuana edibles you bought recently, it's pretty likely that there wasn't actually enough THC in there to make a difference. You know those middle schoolers who get drunk off of their dad's margarita mix because they think it's alcoholic? That's you. If you need a minute to be alone with your embarrassment, feel free to do so now.

Admittedly, the study is relatively small; it only looked at 75 samples of cannabis edibles from 47 different brands. However, lead author Ryan Vandrey, Ph.D., believes that the results at least warrant a larger investigation into the quality of marijuana products. Out of the samples tested, only 13 products were accurate in their labeling, Science Daily reports. A whopping 60 percent, or 45 products, were over-labeled, meaning that they contained less THC than advertised. Most alarmingly, however, researchers found that almost a quarter of the products contained more THC than they claimed.

Marijuana is already notoriously unpredictable when eaten instead of smoked, and symptoms of THC overdose can include paranoia, panic, or even psychosis in new users or those with preexisting mental illness. It's harder to overdose on marijuana than, say, meth or cocaine, but it's still not a fun time.

Furthermore, cannabidol, an ingredient which can reduce the undesirable side effects of THC, was far less present in the products than consumers are led to believe. "A lot of dispensary owners and medical cannabis proponents make a big case [for CBD]," Vandrey said, "but our testing indicates that a lot of what's available... may have very little CBD."

Because marijuana is still considered a Schedule I substance under national law, regulations vary from state to state. According to Vandrey, the study indicates that it's time for states that allow medical marijuana to begin paying attention to the quality of products containing THC. In the meantime, if you're worried about buying THC-laced edibles, why not try making stoner lox? (As long as it's legal, of course. Come on, people.)

Images: Jeffreyw/Flickr; thegifofthemagi/Tumblr; Giphy