Pennsylvania just put data behind why clear standards matter. After a ten-month investigation across Montgomery, Bucks, and Chester counties, prosecutors found that nearly every “Farm Bill compliant” product sold in smoke shops was, in fact, regular marijuana.
According to the findings, undercover officers purchased 144 hemp-branded products from retailers across the state. More than 93% contained illegal levels of Delta-9 THC, some testing as high as 5%. The story was echoed in local coverage, where officials described smoke shops turning into “neighborhood marijuana dealers.”
A Problem Years in the Making
Back in July, The Philadelphia Inquirer had already sent “hemp” products from Pennsylvania shops to a licensed lab and found most were contaminated, mislabeled, or flat-out illegal. The investigation uncovered fake certificates of analysis, mold, heavy metals, and banned pesticides. The new grand jury report didn’t just confirm those findings, it expanded on them.
The THCA Confusion
For anyone wondering how this is even possible, it starts with chemistry. THCA—the raw, non-intoxicating precursor to THC—becomes Delta-9 when heated. It’s the science that underpins the booming hemp flower market. In states without adult-use legalization, products marketed as “THCA hemp” often slide through testing because they show low Delta-9 content before combustion. Once smoked, they’re indistinguishable from regulated cannabis.
High Times explored this in detail in The High Times Guide to THCA, which explains that THCA itself isn’t the problem. The issue is how it’s handled. Without mandatory lab testing or standardization, bad actors can sell anything, from moldy marijuana to pesticide-coated flower, and call it hemp.
Safe THCA vs Counterfeit Hemp
There’s a clear difference between legitimate THCA products and what Pennsylvania investigators found. Good actors already self-regulate. They test every batch through accredited labs, post transparent COAs, disclose total THC (not just Delta-9), verify age, …
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Author: High Times / High Times
