The HSE has warned that potentially dangerous cannabinoids are being found in vapes, vape liquids and edible products available through shops and illicit sellers in Ireland.
The substances have been identified through the HSE Drugs Early Warning System, with testing carried out by the National Drug Treatment Centre Laboratory in Dublin.
Synthetic cannabinoids are manufactured substances designed to produce effects similar to cannabis. Health professionals have linked their use with serious physical and psychological effects, including severe intoxication, loss of consciousness and psychosis.
The HSE laboratory said it had analysed 76 vapes and vape liquids so far this year.
Of those samples, 28 contained hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) or related semi-synthetic cannabinoids. Eight contained potent synthetic cannabinoids, while 10 contained acetate linked to a compound associated with lung disease.
A further 12 samples contained cannabis or cannabis-related compounds, while cannabidiol (CBD) was detected in 41 samples.
The findings have prompted renewed calls for stronger action against products being sold outside the regulated market.
Responsible Vaping Ireland, which represents more than 3,200 independent vape retailers, said the results highlighted concerns it has repeatedly raised about unregulated products being sold through illicit channels.
The organisation said legitimate retailers were operating under an increasingly strict regulatory framework and called on the Government to increase enforcement against businesses and sellers operating outside those rules.
Dr Brian O'Mahony, a senior registrar in psychiatry at St Vincent's Hospital, criticised the Government's approach to semi-synthetic and synthetic cannabinoids.
“The Government's policy towards these substances has been ineffective,” he said.
He said the HSE had previously been asked to address emerging semi-synthetic cannabinoids through the Psychoactive Substances Act but had not done so.
Although HHC has since been specifically prohibited under Irish legislation, Dr O'Mahony warned that other chemically related substances are continuing to emerge.
He said identifying whether a new compound has psychoactive effects can take time because scientific research is required before substances can be properly assessed and regulated.
Dr O'Mahony also highlighted the association between cannabis use and psychosis, saying smoking cannabis can increase the risk by about four times.
He said synthetic cannabinoids can carry an even greater risk, while semi-synthetic compounds such as HHC appear to fall somewhere between the two.
“Probably more likely to cause psychosis than cannabis, but not as likely as the synthetic cannabinoids,” he said.
Research carried out by Dr O'Mahony in Cork also suggested that awareness of the effects of HHC could have influenced people's decisions to use it.
He said most participants in the research indicated that they would not have taken HHC had they known it was psychoactive.
The latest laboratory findings are expected to increase scrutiny of cannabinoid products circulating in Ireland, particularly those being sold outside established and regulated retail channels.
