Synthesized for the first time in 1944 by the American chemist Roger Adams,HHC it is a molecule present in very low quantities in cannabis. For this reason, also given its very expensive extraction, it is produced in the laboratory; hence the nickname "semi-synthetic" cannabinoid.
Passed off as hemp derivatives, HHC products have literally flooded the cannabis market. But HHC is legal? Let's find out what the law says in Italy.
Photo by Elsa Olofsson
The Italian law on HCC
Also known as hexahydrocannabinol, HHC is nothing more than a hydrogenated form of THC, the cannabinoid responsible for the psychoactive effects of cannabis, with which it shares a molecular structure and similar effects, such as: slight euphoria, munchies, dry mouth, red eyes and increased sensory pleasure.
The art. 14 of Presidential Decree 390/90, the consolidated law on narcotics in Italy, paragraph 4) states: "Any other substance which produces effects on the central nervous system and has the capacity to cause physical or mental dependence of the same or higher order than those previously indicated".
It then continues in paragraph 6) including all of: “Cannabis indica, the products obtained from it; tetrahydrocannabinols, their natural analogues, substances obtained by synthesis or semi-synthesis which can be traced back to them by chemical structure or pharmaco-toxicological effect".
Finally, in paragraph 7) defining illicit substances as "any other plant whose active ingredients can cause hallucinations or serious sensory distortions and all substances obtained by extraction or chemical synthesis which cause the same type of effects affecting the central nervous system".
Having said that, theHHC It shouldn't be legal, but given the absence of the specific cannabinoid in the narcotics table, many companies market this type of product, boasting that they are hemp derivatives.
This lack, however, does not justify the move of retailers who sell to grab a share of the market an article of uncertain legality and with effects and possible contraindications still unknown.
The confirmation comes from the Association Italian Hemp Entrepreneurs which since 2019 protects the interests and rights of operators in the industrial hemp sector, which warns of possible prison sentences to which anyone who produces or sells this substance is exposed.
