Scam Delta 8 Companies To Avoid (Updated for 2023)

Unethical D8 THC Vendors: Companies to Avoid

The Delta 8 THC space has only recently stepped out of the underground space into the public sphere. Before 2020, nobody knew this market even existed. It was largely underground, operating on the fringes of legality.

Like any underground market-turned mainstream — there’s a lot of junk that needs to get filtered out first. There are a lot of delta 8 companies that are highly unethical, black market, or straight-up scams.

The most common problem in this space is a lack of testing. Delta 8 THC is very safe — but only if it’s made properly and has been thoroughly tested to prove any harsh chemicals used to make it have been removed. Because of the need to use harsh chemicals, it’s critical for all delta 8 THC products to be tested by an independent lab. If a company doesn’t offer these tests, or they can’t be verified, you shouldn’t buy from them.

There’s a surprising number of low-grade, scammy, or negligent companies in the delta 8 THC space to watch out for.

Consider this our “do not buy” list — which we’ve broken down into three main categories:

1. Scammy or unethical companies — never buy from these brands.
2. Complete lack of testing — these companies don’t test their products at all, don’t buy from them.
3. Lack of safety testing — these companies may test their products but are missing key safety tests; we recommend avoiding these brands as well.

Scammy Companies — Avoid

These are the worst of the worst. Never buy from companies that have already been caught using scammy marketing methods or lied about test results in the past. A few of the companies on this list haven’t done this directly but are owned by companies that have.

** If you know of any other scams that should be added to this list, please email the details to [email protected].

1. Honey Creek Labs

Not only does this company avoid answering any questions on their methods of manufacturing their delta 8, but they’ve also been caught falsifying their reports. One Reddit user sent a sample of this company’s products to a lab for independent testing. He compared the reports with the batch number the company listed, and they didn’t match — not even close.

The company claimed a delta 8 concentration over 95%, but the independent test showed the D8 was closer to 45%. Additionally, the sample contained nearly 15% delta 9 THC — which actually made the product this user ordered illegal in his state.

These products are resold by a variety of other delta 8 vendors, including Greene Rush Hemp, MYCBDhaven, delta710, and bulk density.

2. Cake

Cake has no website, and we couldn’t find any trace of this company’s origins anywhere.

They exist only on Alibaba for ultra-cheap delta 8 THC. It’s likely this company is either a scam or is selling impure or impotent delta 8 bulk powders to people who think they’ve managed to find a cheap source of delta 8.

Never order from this company.

Companies That Don’t Publish Any Testing

These companies don’t publish any third-party reports for their products or don’t keep their tests up to date. If the tests aren’t published I reach out to the company to get it since I’ve found some companies have them but don’t publish them (for reasons I have yet to understand).

It’s not enough for a company to test one batch, publish the report, and then skip this step moving forward. Every single batch of products needs to be tested separately.

Additionally, some companies publish tests, but they were done in-house or by a third-party testing facility that’s been found to falsify reports. Tests that are done in-house or by these companies are considered insufficient. They’re essentially meaningless because we can’t trust the integrity of these reports.

These companies should be completely avoided because of the clear lack of testing:

1. Catskill Hemp Co
2. Cosmo
3. Delta XL
4. Dr. Zaza
5. Earthbound Hempz
6. Hydro Hemp
7. Miracle Leaf
8. Palm Trees
9. Puff Delta 8
10. Saliv-8
11. Straight 8
12. Turnt
13. Your Cure CBD
14. Z.E.N.

If you disagree with this list, send evidence of testing to [email protected] and I’ll remove it. All tests are required, not just potency.

List of Delta 8 Companies That Provide Testing

Here are five companies we’ve vetted so far that meet the criteria for reputable brands. I have no doubt there are others, but these are the brands I’ve tried and have been happy with so far.

1. Area 52

Area 52 is relatively new, but they’ve done a pretty good job at ticking the boxes in terms of what makes for a good delta 8 company.

I especially like the delta 8 tinctures from this brand.

The only issue I found was that they don’t offer their tests publicly. I had to reach out to them to get a copy of it but didn’t see anything that stood out as being an issue.

Products Offered By Area 52:

• Delta 8 THC Gummies
• Delta 8 THC Vapes
• Delta 8 THC Tinctures

2. 3Chi

3Chi is the biggest player in the delta 8 THC space at the moment.

This vendor produces a wide range of delta 8 THC products — covering all categories of products, from carts and gummies to tinctures and capsules.

The main reason we recommend this company over most other delta 8 vendors is their integrity for testing. You can find relevant and up-to-date lab reports for all products offered on the website. These tests check for potency, contaminants, solvents, heavy metals, and mycotoxins, or other microbial contaminants.

Products Offered By 3Chi

• Delta 8 THC Cartridges
• Delta 8 THC Gummies
• Delta 8 THC Flower & Moonrocks
• Delta 8 THC Tinctures
• Delta 8 THC Distillates

3. Mr. Hemp Flower

Mr. Hemp Flower is a premium supplier of raw hemp flowers, CBD oils, and a variety of other cannabinoids.

Recently, this company has stepped into the delta 8 space with a selection of different product types.

You can order hemp flowers (raw flour and pre-rolls), gummies, carts, hash, brittle candies, lollipops, and honey-sticks — all infused with delta 8 THC.

This company offers the lab tests for each product on the website — however, they aren’t the full tests. We had to reach out to the customer service team to get the extensive tests that included the heavy metal, solvent, and full contamination panel.

We’re not sure why Mr. Hemp Flower doesn’t offer the full tests online as a default, but we’re satisfied with the results we received after reaching out.

Products Offered By Mr. Hemp Flower

• Delta 8 THC Distillate
• Delta 8 THC Hash
• Delta 8 THC Hemp Flower & Prerolls
• Delta 8 THC Hard Candy
• Delta 8 THC Lollipops

4. Arete Hemp

Arete Hemp is one of the only companies we’ve seen in the delta 8 THC space that provides details on the people behind the company. The founder, Todd Campanella, is reachable on Twitter and LinkedIn — which is more than can be said for virtually every other delta 8 or CBD company on the market today.

This vendor makes a few different cannabis products — including CBD oils, hemp flower, and CBG concentrations.

This company’s delta 8 range includes tinctures, distillates, and replaceable vape cartridges.

All Arete Hemp products are sent to a third-party lab for testing.

Our only caveat with the testing from this company is that their solvent and heavy metal tests are given a pass or fail score, but the thresholds for what constitutes a pass isn’t listed.

Products Offered By Arete Hemp

• CBD oil
• Hemp Flower
• CBG Concentrates
• Delta 8 THC Tinctures
• Delta 8 THC Distillates
• Delta 8 THC Carts

5. Delta Extrax

Delta Extrax (formerly Delta Effex) is another reputable brand with a large and loyal customer base. This brand carries a lot more than just delta 8, and it seems to come out with new product types every other month.

We like the level of effort and attention to detail this brand has for both its products and its website and blog.

Products Offered By Delta Effex:

• Delta 8 THC gummies
• Delta 8 THC distillates
• Delta 8 THC hemp flower
• Delta 8 THC tinctures
• Delta 8 THC vape carts
• Delta 10 THC products
• CBD & other cannabinoid extracts
• THC-O Products

6. BeeZBee

BeeZBee was on our “do not buy list” for a while, but after the company reached out with the complete panel of tests we gave them a fresh analysis.

While we haven’t tried any of this brand’s products, we like to see that despite their extensive product lineup for both CBD and delta 8 products — a recent lab test can be found for each one of them.

This company is also one of the only brands we’ve seen that offers topical delta 8 THC products (combined with CBD for targeting pain).

Products offered By BeeZBee:

• Delta 8 THC Tinctures
• Delta 8 THC Pre-Rolls
• Delta 8 THC Gummies
• Delta 8 THC Vape Carts
• Delta 8 THC Topicals

7. Neurogan

Neurogan is not a delta 8 company. They’re one of the many large and reputable CBD companies gradually making their way into the delta 8 THC market.

This brand has a lot of loyal customers behind them, and they’ve got a solid track record — so they’re a bit safer to go with than one of the many brand new delta 8 companies that have been popping up all over the place — none of which are even remotely transparent about their origins or executive team.

Products Offered By Neurogan:

• Delta 8 THC Gummies
• CBD Products

How Much Does Delta 8 THC Cost?

The best way to assess the cost of delta 8 THC products is to compare the cost per milligram of the active ingredient. This allows us to compare the cost of different types of delta 8 products together.

On average, the cost of delta 8 THC is around $0.06 – $0.10 for every milligram of delta 8.

Each product type comes with a different cost range:

• Cartridges — $0.08 – $0.15
• Tinctures — $0.06 – $0.12
• Gummies — $0.05 – $0.10
• Distillate — $0.03 – $0.07

Types of Delta 8 THC Products

All delta 8 THC products begin their life as a distillate. The distillate can be used as-is or added to cartridges, infused with gummy candies, diluted into oils or tinctures, or filled into capsules.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the most common forms of delta 8 THC on the market today.

1. Delta 8 THC Cartridges

Delta 8 THC cartridges are the most popular form of this cannabinoid at the moment. They’re the fastest-acting way to use the cannabinoid and are more efficient than any other form. You only need a few puffs from a vape pen to get a strong set of effects.

Virtually all the vendors in the delta 8 space sell cartridges (called carts). Some offer a variety of carts that contain different flavor additives or e-liquids to enhance the experience.

The standard delta 8 THC vape cartridge uses a distillate — which has no flavor and doesn’t produce any visible vapor.

2. Delta 8 THC Tinctures

Everybody has heard of CBD oils or tinctures by now — they’ve become one of the most popular health supplements in the world over the past couple of years.

Delta 8 THC is available in this form as well and offers all the same advantages. They’re easy to use, allow you to take precise doses, and are very cost-effective.

The potency of the tincture you’re using is important. You can find tinctures in all different potencies — ranging from 300 mg per bottle up to 3000 mg per bottle.

Always follow the directions on the label when using delta 8 THC tinctures to avoid taking too much by mistake.

3. Delta 8 THC Gummies

Gummies are another popular method of using cannabis products. You can find gummies made with just about any cannabinoid you can think of — including CBD and conventional delta 9 THC products.

Delta 8 THC gummies use the same principle of filling a delicious fruity gummy with specific doses of the cannabinoid (usually 10 or 20 mg each).

4. Delta 8 THC Distillates

A distillate is the concentrated form of delta 8 THC. Delta 8 THC distillates consist of a very thick and syrupy preparation of pure delta 8 THC.

Delta 8 THC distillates are usually crystal clear but may also come with a cloudy or off-yellow color. They’re usually the cheapest form available.

To use a distillate, you can either eat it directly, add it to a vape, or smoke it in a dab rig.

5. Delta 8 THC Honey

One of the limiting factors of any cannabinoid, including delta 8 THC, is that they’re only soluble in fats or alcohol. Honey consists primarily of sucrose and other simple sugars — which shares the same qualities of alcohol and fats as a solvent. This means high-concentrations of cannabinoids can be diffused into a delicious honey base.

Delta 8 THC honey has become increasingly popular lately as an alternative to tinctures or gummies.

Every month we’re seeing more and more brands offering delta 8 THC-infused honey products. They usually come as a premeasured tube of around 20–40 mg delta 8 THC and about 10 mL of honey.

6. Delta 8 THC Hemp Flower

Some companies are making delta 8 THC flower by spraying dried hemp flower nugs with a delta 8 THC distillate.

These products can be purchased as raw buds to use in a dry herb vape or grind up and smoke in a bong, pipe, or joint.

Some companies even take care of this last part for you — providing delta 8 THC pre-rolls or cigarettes.

Final Thoughts: Best Delta 8 THC Vendors

Delta 8 THC has only recently risen to the public sphere. Before 2021, delta 8 was virtually unknown to most people. Users were confined to talking about the cannabinoid in online forums like Reddit.

Most people who use delta 8 THC can be divided into two camps:

• People living in states that lack recreational cannabis laws who want a legal form of THC
• People who find conventional THC (delta 9) makes them too anxious and want a less-anxious alternative

If you’re reading this, you probably fall into one or both of these camps yourself.

If I were to summarize this entire article into one sentence — it would be this.

“Never buy from a delta 8 supplier that doesn’t test for both safety and potency.“

This is the most significant differentiator between a reputable supplier from scammy, unethical, or low-grade suppliers.

If you’re brand new to this space and want a recommendation, I’d check out the selection offered by brands like Area 52, Mr. Hemp Flower, or Arete Hemp, just to name a few.