Spanish government notified of synthetic cannabinoid presence in Maltese sweets

The Food Safety and Nutrition Agency of the Spanish government has been notified by the health authorities of Catalonia about the presence of hexahydrocannabinol (HHC), a component of cannabis, in sweets from Malta. 

Specifically, the product in question is named HHC Gummies Strawberry from the Ypsilós brand.

The Spanish food agency highlighted that notice has been given to the autonomous communities to confirm the removal of the impacted items from distribution channels. The organisation issued a warning, stating that eating foods high in HHC poses a "serious" danger to one's health.

MaltaToday had first reported on the presence of HHC products locally in November 2023. The Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis (ARUC) has no legal remit to regulate these products despite its psychoactive qualities as they contain less than 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the psychoactive compound found in cannabis.  

HHC products, which can be found in many European shops, can still be purchased legally in Malta, despite warnings from ARUC. Last January, the authority said that it would be setting up an expert multi-disciplinary Consultative Committee to better discuss challenges and solutions linked with emerging semi-synthetic cannabinoid products. So far, no updates have surfaced. 

Reacting to the news from Spain, cannabis advocacy group ReLeaf Malta noted that it had called for the recall and ban of semi synthetic cannabinoid products such as HHC from the local market. 

“Unfortunately, we are now witnessing these fake cannabis products being exported FROM Malta,” the NGO said, as it asked, “What ever happened to the Authority for the Responsible Use of Cannabis' plans to establish an 'expert multi-disciplinary Consultative Committee' to address this pressing issue and who is profiting from this?”