Until there are more regulations on delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (∆8-THC), poison centers (PCs) will continue to get calls. That's according to a new study suggesting delta-8 THC exposure is lower in states where such products are banned and where cannabis use is legal, reported Marijuana Moment.

"Our findings showed a statistically significant lower rate of ∆8-THC exposures reported to PCs [poison centers] among states where medical or recreational cannabis use was legal than states where cannabis use was illegal," according to the researchers. "This is likely attributable, in part, to less market competition from ∆9-THC products in states where their use was illegal, and that ∆8-THC was likely being used as a substitute for ∆9-THC."

Published in the Journal of Medical Toxicology, the study took a closer look at exposures involving delta-8 THC reported to PCs nationwide, including variation among states and regions. The study analyzed data from National Poison Data System data for delta-8 exposures from Jan. 1, 2021, through Dec. 31, 2022.

That said, the states in the U.S. South, where recreational marijuana can't be legally purchased from licensed retailers, accounted for the majority of all exposures, or 69.8% out of a total of 4,925 exposures reported to PCs.

"The rate of ∆8-THC exposures reported to US PCs increased by 79% from 2021 to 2022, with the US South accounting for more than two-thirds of exposures," concluded the researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital, the Ohio State University College of Medicine's pediatrics department, the University of Colorado School of Medicine, the Central Ohio Poison Center and the organization Child Injury Prevention Alliance.