Ireland has banned the synthetic cannabinoid HHC (hexahydrocannabinol), citing escalating public health risks, particularly among youth. Effective immediately, the import, export, production, possession, and sale of HHC are illegal under the country’s Misuse of Drugs Act 1977.
The move follows a sharp increase in reported HHC-related psychiatric symptoms, particularly in products sold as vapes, edibles, and tinctures. Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said HHC products are “a marketing ploy aimed at young people,” warning that the substance “can be addictive and is harmful for youth mental health.”
Study confirms link
The ban comes on the heels of a peer-reviewed study from University Hospital Galway (UHG), published in the Irish Medical Journal, which found that HHC was the second most common drug among patients presenting with psychosis over a 21-month period. The semi-synthetic compound, which mimics the psychoactive effects of THC, has been sold in Ireland since at least 2022.
Like other intoxicating hemp substances that have risen in popularity recently – especially in the United States – HHC is typically derived from CBD extracted from industrial hemp. It is one of a number of such hemp-based, lab-made, “high”-producing compounds that have created a firestorm in virtually all 50 states in the U.S.
In Ireland, UHG researchers reported widespread availability of HHC in vapes and edibles. “HHC has caused major damage to people’s mental health,” said the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, which had recently criticized the government for failing to act sooner.
Boosting enforcement
HHC is now among 14 newly restricted substances—including synthetic opioids and semi-synthetic cannabinoids—classified as Schedule 1 controlled drugs. This aligns Irish law with recent alerts issued by both the EU Early Warning System and the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.
The new classification grants expanded enforcement powers to An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police force, allowing for criminal penalties and seizure of illicit products.
Prof. Bobby Smyth, Chair of the Addiction Faculty at the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, said it was frustrating that Ireland lagged behind other EU countries that banned HHC months earlier. He warned that vape shops might now pivot to other unregulated alternatives, creating a “cat-and-mouse” scenario similar to Ireland’s previous “headshop” crisis.
“I saw fewer psychotic patients after headshops were banned,” Smyth told RTÉ News. “I want to see that happen again.”
Global problem
The challenge of out-of-control markets in hemp intoxicants is not limited to Ireland.
While the EU has not issued a centralized ban, member states are increasingly treating HHC and other synthetic hemp-derived intoxicants as public health risks, and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) is moving toward a more coordinated response.
At least ten EU countries have banned HHC specifically. Lithuania was the first to act in November 2022, followed by Finland in January 2023 and Austria in March 2023. Poland implemented a ban in April 2023, and France outlawed HHC and its derivatives HHC-O and HHC-P in June 2023. Sweden followed in July 2023, while Luxembourg introduced its ban in August 2023, covering all lab-made substances that act like cannabis in the body. Slovenia enacted a ban in November 2023. The Czech Republic prohibited HHC and other hemp-derived intoxicants beginning in March 2024. Most recently, Germany imposed a nationwide ban on HHC and related analogues in June 2024 under an amendment to the New Psychoactive Substances Act.
In the 30th annual Drug Report 2025: Trends and Development, released in June, the European Drugs Agency (EUDA) said the proliferation of semi-synthetic cannabinoids made from CBD is creating public health risks, warning against HHC, THC-P, HHC-O, and other synthetic compounds derived from hemp.
Acute scourge in USA
In the United States, HHC, delta-8 THC and other lab-made “frankenoids” occupy a legal gray area made possible by a loophole in the 2018 Farm Bill that legalized hemp and its derivatives, but did not anticipate the chemical conversion of legal hemp compounds like CBD into intoxicants.
As a result, a sprawling, unregulated market has emerged, with products widely available online and in convenience stores across the country. Many of these items are sold in brightly colored packaging and candy-like formats that appeal to children, despite containing psychoactive compounds often more potent than marijuana. With no federal oversight and inconsistent state-level regulations, the market continues to grow while raising serious public health and safety concerns.