Intravenous administration of delta8 and delta9-THC produced transient dose-related increases in blood pressure, followed by longer hypotensive responses and bradycardia. Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the ingredient in marijuana that causes people to get high. There are several types of THC, and delta-8 THC is the subtype that is thought to affect blood pressure. Animal experiments with delta-8 THC show that it can cause temporary increases in blood pressure.
Research shows that this is potentially due to a vasoconstrictor effect that causes arteries to narrow and contract, increasing blood pressure. Delta-8-THC can have different effects on blood pressure depending on the person and the dose. In some cases, Delta-8 may cause a temporary increase in heart rate, which could cause a short-term increase in blood pressure. However, cannabinoids such as delta-8-THC are also known to cause vasodilation or widening of blood vessels, which could lower blood pressure.
CBD can be synthetically converted to THC delta-8.According to a recent health alert from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “this conversion process, used to produce some commercialized products, can create harmful by-products that are currently not well characterized. These additional chemicals may be responsible for the increase in reports of toxicity among recreational users of products labeled “delta-8” (THC). In addition, the CDC speculated that the use of the words “dietary” or “light” on the label could have made shoppers think that they were buying CBD, without realizing that they were buying a product with psychoactive effects. In other cases, children inadvertently consumed edible products (“gummies”).
This caused deep sedation and slow breathing, with an initial increase in heart rate, which progressed to a slower heart rate and lower blood pressure. Other toxicities reported by delta-8 THC products included lethargy, uncoordinated movements, difficulty speaking, difficulty breathing, sedation and coma.
