Lawmakers, agencies push for interagency enforcement after finding unregulated CBD and delta‑8 products

During a House of Representatives committee hearing (date not specified), Representative José Aponte Hernández and other lawmakers raised alarms about the wide availability of unregulated CBD and delta‑8 products sold in bakeries, gas stations, pharmacies and small stores across Puerto Rico, and called for immediate interagency enforcement and laboratory testing to determine product contents and health risks.

Representative José Aponte Hernández said samples collected at events and retail sites show a product “por todos lados, sin ningún tipo de regulación,” and described early laboratory findings that worry him: in some samples delta‑8 was detected in its normal state but "cuando se quema aumenta potencia y se convierte en un delta‑9," a compound that is prohibited under Puerto Rico’s medical cannabis law as discussed in the hearing. Aponte Hernández said the legislature will wait for formal lab results before advancing measures but urged agencies to act in the meantime.

Wanda del Valle Correa, a representative who arrived to comment on the samples, said the products are easy to purchase and marketed openly. She described seeing items guarded in small displays and sold at low prices, and warned of health consequences if users assume products labeled as CBD contain only low THC. "Estos productos sabemos que los tienen en vitrinita aparte... es de fácil identificación," she said.

Officials and board representatives present described limits on their current authority and capacity. A participant identified in the hearing as the executive of the Junta de Cannabis (the cannabis regulatory board) said the board is "disponible para colaborar" and willing to lead fiscalization of CBD and related products but that enforcement will require coordinated work with agencies including DACO (Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor), the Puerto Rico police, fire officials and Hacienda.

Witnesses at the hearing described steps already taken: samples were collected from a bakery and a promoted public event, and some activities were closed during an interagency intervention involving police, firefighters and the cannabis board. Officials emphasized that available laboratory capacity is limited; participants noted a regional Food and Drug Administration (FDA) laboratory presence that has been reduced and that the Puerto Rico regional lab will close "a partir de verano," which would affect local testing options.

Lawmakers raised several policy and enforcement options discussed during the hearing: (1) immediate, targeted field interventions (surprise inspections) coordinated by police with support from regulatory agencies; (2) expanded laboratory testing that includes both cannabinoid profiling (to detect THC percentages and delta‑8/delta‑9) and tests for metals and other contaminants; and (3) legislative language that targets chemical definitions and synthetic cannabinoids rather than prohibiting single named compounds, which has allowed manufacturers to substitute new variants in the past.

Speakers offered differing counts for existing medical cannabis program enrollments and dispensaries; officials cited that the patient registry has been “stable” and gave figures in the hearing ranging from about 118,000 to 136,000 registered patients, and that there are roughly 275 authorized dispensaries but a moratorium on new licenses because the market is considered saturated. Participants emphasized those figures as context, not as the focus of the enforcement discussion.

No formal vote or enacted law resulted from the hearing. Lawmakers repeatedly urged agencies to carry out coordinated enforcement actions "salir a la calle" and to return with lab results and concrete recommendations for regulatory or legislative changes. The executive of the Junta de Cannabis said the board will collaborate with DACO and law enforcement to develop impact operations; the secretary present said agencies will remain available but must work within legal and resource limits.

Why it matters: lawmaker and agency statements at the hearing indicate that products marketed as CBD or hemp derivatives are widely available outside regulated dispensaries, may exceed the 0.3% THC threshold discussed in statute and regulation, and can include synthetic additives with different potency or health effects. Lawmakers emphasized potential public‑health harms—particularly among young adults—and the need to both enforce current prohibitions and update statutory language to cover evolving synthetic products.

What’s next: officials said they will prioritize laboratory testing of collected samples (including analysis for metals), coordinate interagency field inspections with police and other agencies, and prepare draft legislative language that focuses on chemical definitions to close loopholes that have allowed new synthetic cannabinoids to appear on the market. Lawmakers asked the executive branch agencies to report back to the committee with test results and an enforcement plan.

Quotation examples from the hearing are preserved in Spanish as spoken in the transcript: Representative José Aponte Hernández: "Esto está por todos lados, sin ningún tipo de regulación." Wanda del Valle Correa: "Estos productos sabemos que los tienen en vitrinita aparte... es de fácil identificación." Executive, Junta de Cannabis: "estamos disponibles para colaborar."