Cannabis legalization: stricter controls required in Upper Austria

It is frightening, says state health councilor and LH deputy Christine Haberlander (VP), that even in specialist shops there is uncertainty about what is contained in the cannabis flowers sold. “On the occasion of the legalization of cannabis in Germany, we are now concentrating on two priorities: Firstly, the focus is on prevention and educational work in schools. And secondly, we are calling for stricter controls and training for sellers,” says Haberlander.

• also read: Cannabis legalization: “Passau must not become Amsterdam”

Controls at the federal level

Consumption of dangerous substances in supposedly safe CBD cannabis flowers occurred a few weeks ago in Upper Austria: After consuming a legally purchased CBD product, a young Upper Austrian sought help and information from the country’s addiction and drug coordination. Immediately after consuming a joint, the young man noticed severe heart palpitations and was treated in the intensive care unit of a hospital. A laboratory analysis of the cannabis residue showed a THC value well over five percent. “Such events are a clear confirmation of the need for better controls and stricter laws,” says Thomas Schwarzenbrunner, drug and addiction coordinator for the state of Upper Austria.

CBD products are currently sold legally in around 60 shops in Upper Austria. “And I don’t want to blame these businesses across the board,” says Schwarzenbrunner. But most of the employees in the shops do not spend enough time with the products. “Of course, from the outside you can’t tell the difference between CBD products and cannabis products with THC,” says the drug coordinator. Therefore, stricter quality control of the products is necessary, says Haberlander. “We see in Upper Austria that we find it difficult to monitor this industry, even on a small scale. Necessary steps are needed at the federal level.”

Difference between CBD and THC

Legal cannabis products with CBD (i.e. cannabinoids) are not psychoactive and create little or no potential for addiction among consumers, says Kurosch Yazdi-Zorn, head of the Department of Psychiatry with a focus on addiction medicine at Kepler University Hospital. Many people also consume these CBD products for health reasons, “for example to relieve pain, help them fall asleep or something similar. But it has to be said here: it has more of a placebo effect than an actual medical effect,” says Yazdi-Zorn. It is all the more problematic that many people order potentially contaminated CBD products over the Internet and therefore do not know what they are actually consuming. If you actually use the products for medical purposes, the addiction doctor recommends contacting pharmacies or doctors.

Many people don’t use cannabis flowers themselves, but rather cannabinoid oil. “Unfortunately, customers cannot check whether these products contain synthetic substances. Therefore, more control and training of employees is definitely needed,” says Yazdi-Zorn.

Illegal cannabis with THC, on the other hand, produces a state of intoxication and has addictive potential, especially with regular use. The addictive substance also causes psychosis and short-term memory problems.