said on some product packaging psychoactive cannabinoids were also listed in the contents of the gummies.
The package acknowledged the gummies were infused with hemp, which is the same plant as cannabis but is supposed to have none of the psychoactive component of cannabis. After 10 patients in the US were hospitalised, and several required intubation and mechanical ventilation, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned products containing psychoactive compounds such as cannabis or mushroom extracts were increasing in availability and often sold as gummy candies, chocolate or other snack foods.
“Many of these ‘herbal highs’ are well known in Indigenous communities and used as sacred substances in traditional rites or as medicines by different cultures. Nonetheless,Wilson said there is now a greater understanding of the health benefits of some psychoactive drugs, but they may only be beneficial for some people with certain conditions“The industry has capitalised on this by offering unregulated products that promise a range of health benefits.
“The ‘natural’ nature and increasing awareness and availability of some psychoactive and psychedelic substances – on top of what they often call ‘legal highs’ – is making this sector a little greyer than it used to be, as we are finding these products being used in combination more and more,” Wardle said.
Musgrave said because many products like Uncle Frog’s Mushroom Gummies are manufactured overseas means they are not subject to any Australian regulatory authority. Most herbal products don’t require strong evidence of effectiveness to get on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods “but what they do require is good manufacturing processes… to make sure that what you are getting in the bottle is what is on the label”.