This writer is an experienced cannabis user dating from when we bought on the street from the cartels. Now, it is legal all over the place and the finance hustlers are rushing to sell whatever they can without proper reveals on the products.

Kanna Risk Management has a new project using Transdermal CBD patches: a dispensing methodology we believe in as long as the product is grown hydroponically or aquaponically and not ingested by mouth or grown in dirt! Because our staff has been searching the dispensary and online market for months, this week I received a small bag of four gummies called Moonwlkr Delta-8 Europa & Atlas 25mg Gummies, sold by moonwlkr.com, claiming there was only .3% THC in each piece. I took two and was out-of-the-box stoned for seven hours. Delta-8 is dangerous, and this product is typical of what is now being sold online and in dispensaries without a warning of the psychoactive effects. In fact, Delta-8 is now being subjected to scrutiny by state and federal regulators. MAKE SURE THAT YOUR INSUREDS ARE NOT SELLING THIS WITHOUT WARNING.

While Cannabidiol is a non-psychoactive produced by hemp and its sister the cannabis plant, and because of its medicinal properties, the market is thriving as sales are brisk. Most of the research done at this point has been on animals but CBD patches are recognized as the best way to use CBD for pain; slowly and direct into the bloodstream bypassing the digestive tract. I took my ostensible non-psychoactive CBD from a seller who did not warn me, put the product in my mouth as a test and you know what happened. This is a national issue.

The only state that is taking a hard look at Delta-8 is Michigan; but more will certainly follow. There is an insurance risk here for product and general liability. Delta-8 THC was previously a loosely regulated compound that induces a similar high to THC marijuana and will now be regulated by Michigan’s marijuana regulatory agency beginning October 6, 2021. Prior to Governor Whitmer’s signing several bills only Delta-9 was examined legislatively. This loose set of regulations led to gas stations and online vendors selling Delta-8 without licensing, testing and meeting all the other regs on MMJ

Some of Michigan’s’ legislators likened Delta-8 to synthesized drugs that hit the market 10 years ago. This ban encompasses any other intoxicating compounds derived from the cannabis plant. Robin Schneider of the Michigan Cannabis Association said her members opposed the ban: but of course. The Michigan Cannabis Manufacturers’ Association said this was a victory for consumer safety and was reported as saying anyone producing or selling cannabis THC Delta-8 products must be in compliance. As an aside, Covert Cups, a chocolate product produced by 3843Euclid Company in Michigan, were recalled from their factory and from a dispensary named “Dispo”. The product had been dispersed all over Michigan and included peanut butter cups, s’mores, banana creams and other varieties of cup tasties. In 2019 this company was fined and its license was suspended for 14 days because its video surveillance was missing for two weeks when regulators went in for a routine inspection.

The lessons here are clear. First off, ask your insureds what they are selling and whether they are tested for purity and state standards. Do not make the mistake I made with those gummies. I thought it was a stroke or heart attack; it could have been a disaster.

More important, know there is a great deal of confusing and sometimes reckless behavior in the cannabis marketplace. When you sell product and general liability coverage be certain that your insureds tell you everything that they are selling and be aware that a great deal of product can be masked, Ask for samples to be put in your file and even send them to underwriters. THC amounts not revealed and safety issues ignored will be a basis for coverage denials.

See you next time….be safe. Michael B