#1 Lip Service
About 400 tubes of lip balm containing trace amounts of THC mistakenly distributed to service members throughout Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Alaska are being recalled. The THC-infused lip balm was distributed by the base's sexual assault response coordinator office as a promotional item. One of the ingredients in the lip balm is hemp seed oil, which contains tetrohydrocannibinol, the active ingredient in marijuana that gets people stoned.
#2 What Is THC?
THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is the primary ingredient in marijuana responsible for the high; however, getting high is not all that it's good for. THC also has a wide range of medical benefits, and is commonly reported to relieve pain, nausea, and depression, among many other things.
THC is just one of more than 60 active ingredients in cannabis. While THC is still illegal in the U.S. and most countries around the world, synthetic versions of the chemical have been legally prescribed for decades.
Most people know of THC because of its ability to induce euphoria, or a high. Interesting enough, THC does not always have this effect on its own. That's because THC is mostly present in the cannabis plant as THCA (tetrahydrocannabinolic acid), its acidic precursor. THCA is not psychoactive, which is why ingesting cannabis raw is unpopular among recreational users. On the other hand, medical users commonly take raw preparations, since THCA possesses some of the same therapeutic benefits as THC.
#3 Not Such An Issue
JBER said in the email that the "SAPR Lip Balm" did not contain enough THC to register on a drug test, let alone get anyone high, and provided a report on THC and hemp oil cosmetics from the group Leson Environmental Consulting that reached those conclusions. But Air Force and Army guidelines bar the use of all hemp seed products, JBER said.
The SARC office has stopped handing out the lip balm, the email said, and has asked any service member who has a tube to throw it away.
In an email statement Thursday, JBER spokesman 1st Lt. Michael Harrington said that, "We have identified mistakes in the purchasing process and have established safeguards to ensure that future purchases consider the possibility of such ingredients in ingestible products."
"We believe in taking the route of utmost caution with our service members and their families' health, and this case is no exception," Harrington said.
