Nickolas Jarosh started smoking marijuana after his shifts as a 911 dispatcher. He’d flip between working days and nights, and the inconsistent schedule made it difficult to fall asleep. Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, helped, he said.
Jarosh, 29, who now lives outside Houston, no longer works a job that forces him to keep inconsistent hours. He also no longer has access to marijuana, which he said had also been helping to ease his anxiety and depression.
But four months ago, he found a substitute: a federally legal form of the psychoactive compound called delta-8 THC. Now, he orders it from a company in Boston that works it into gummies, chocolates and vape cartridges.