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Following the recent boom in products advertised as containing Delta-9, South Carolinas health department has issued a letter to the hemp industry warning that the substance isn't an approved food-and-beverage ingredient.

The new guidance is a far cry from outlawing cannabinoids in food and drink, but affects a budding industry that has sprung up to promote Delta-8 and Delta-9 seltzers as an alternative to alcohol. It will have a significant impact on how manufacturers do business in the state, and it raises concerns in the industry about consumer confusion and potential risk.

Delta-9 is the most prominent form of the psychoactive tetrahydrocannabinol popularly known as THC found in the cannabis plant. Delta-8 is a less common, less psychoactive form of THC.

For Matt Skinner, co-owner of Charleston's High Rise Beverage Company, clarity on Delta-9 has been long-awaited. He's glad to have it, though he said the agency's guidance on product labeling leaves much to be desired.

The Jan. 22 letter outlined the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's stance that full-spectrum hemp oil and hemp-seed derivatives are the only approved cannabis-based ingredients so long as they contain no more than .3 percent Delta-9 on a dry-weight basis, are food-grade and come from a certified supplier.

DHEC goes further, saying that product labels shouldnt declare that the product contains THC, CBD or Delta-9 though all of them naturally occur in hemp oil.

"They've stated that they don't want descriptive labels on the can," Skinner said. "The irony of this letter is that it poses consumer risk."

The agency asserts that by advertising these chemicals, the manufacturer is implying the product is no longer a food item, but a drug.

Delta-9 was federally legalized by the 2018 farm bill, so long as it appears in no more than .3 percent concentration on a dry-weight basis.

The law was silent on whether Delta-8is legal, which ledthe South Carolina Attorney General to issue a statement saying that it isnt.

The 2021 opinion has been the governing doctrine in the state despite lacking the legal weight of legislation.

DHEC's new guidance echoes the sentiment that Delta-8 THC is not permitted on its own as a food-and-drink additive, but it doesn't outright ban the chemical because it naturally occurs in legal hemp.

The Food and Drug Administration has said that it is illegal to sell any food or drink that THC and CBD have been added to in interstate commerce. Hemp seed and hemp seed oil, however, are FDA-cleared for food and drink products.

DHEC's letter affirms that that hemp seed and its derivates are allowed in the state. It adds that full spectrum hemp oil an extract from the cannabis plant can also be used as an ingredient so long as it is tested for and contains less than .3 percent Delta-9 THC.

Currently, companies like High Rise Beverage Co.and Rebel Rabbit,a Greenville-based hemp seltzer company, advertise the milligrams of THC on the can.

The guidance will prevent manufacturers from telling consumers exactly how much Delta-9 THC is in their products.

DHEC refers to the practice as "dosage instructions" that "gives the impression not of a food or beverage, but of an illegal drug, or of a food or beverage that has been poisoned by THC."

Skinner said without descriptive labels, consumers might not know what they're getting.

"We as a brand and people in the industry have a responsibility to tell people what's in these cans," Skinner said.

High Rise Delta-9 seltzers are photographed at High Rise Cannabis Dry Bar on Aug. 11, 2023, on James Island. The can design has since changed to reflect that it contains full-spectrum hemp oil. File/Andrew J. Whitaker/Staff

The letter doesn't address whether infused food and beverage products need to be labeled "psychoactive," though a DHEC spokesperson said no mention of psychoactive properties is required because "less than 0.3 percent Delta 9 THC is not a drug."

But a product can contain several milligrams of THC while still falling below the .3 percent threshold.

For this reason, both High Rise and Rebel Rabbit's websitescaution consumers that drinking their beverages might result in drug test failure.

Rebel Rabbit declined an interview request by The Post and Courier about the guidance. Instead, the company issued a statement to say it is "in the process of assessing the details (of DHEC's letter) and the potential impact on our business and the hemp industry of South Carolina as a whole."

The letter comes as DHECs Food Safety program, which oversees products like Delta-9 seltzers, plans to be absorbed by the states Department of Agriculture later this year.

Eva Moore, a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, said the oversight will transition on July 1.

As we work toward the transition ... we are planning and evaluating how to integrate all those programs into our existing ones, Moore said. I cant speak yet to how well handle a future regulatory role that we dont have yet.

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Companies can't say Delta-9 is in their food or drinks in SC | Business - The Post and Courier