The side-effects of synthetic cannabinoids have likely motivated the crackdown on hemp products, a supplier of the plant said.

Khomeini Taalib-Din, the owner of Best Buds, said that many adverse reactions to hemp products reported by the Bermuda Hospitals Board last month had probably been the result of artificial components.

Hemp in its natural form is a cannabis plant.

Mr Taalib-Din said that these chemicals were similar to the psychoactive compound tetrahydrocannabinol, better known as THC, but were known to have unpredictable effects on the user.

He added: “A lot of people are blaming cannabis and it’s not cannabis.

“Cannabis has gone through almost 100 years of being vilified and now the world is starting to come around and recognise the benefits of it.

“My concern is that another dark cloud is going to go over the cannabis industry because these products that aren’t cannabis but are being sold like they’re cannabis are hazardous.”

Mr Taalib-Din, a certified CBD adviser and horticulturalist, was speaking out after hemp suppliers claimed thousands of dollars worth of products had been seized by customs without warning.

Questions sent to the Ministry of National Security have gone unanswered.

Statistics from the BHB showed that people under 18 years old account for almost 10 per cent of emergency room admissions caused by cannabis or hemp products.

Mr Taalib-Din said that a 2017 amendment to the Misuse of Drugs Act, which was designed to decriminalised some hemp products, did not account for synthetic cannabinoids.

He explained: “CBD [products] didn’t get you high back then.

“In more recent years, they have manipulated CBD and have created other synthetic cannabinoids.

“They’ve been able to turn a non-psychoactive compound — CBD — and alter it to make it psychoactive with these new forms of THC.

Mr Taalib-Din said that any form of THC that is not Delta-9 is synthetic and insisted that “you only want the natural stuff”.

He added that some synthetic versions of THC were 33 times stronger than Delta-9.

Mr Taalib-Din said that because many people did not understand the strength of these synthetic cannabinoids, they often ended up taking a stronger dose than they were prepared for.

He said that many of the adverse side-effects reported by those treated in hospital, including psychosis, were clear reactions to synthetic cannabinoids.

Mr Taalib-Din said: “People think that they’re taking a cannabis edible and it’s not cannabis — it’s much, much, much stronger.

“So people are talking these products and the strength of them is catching them off guard, especially with the new edibles because there’s a 30 to 60-minute onset before you start to feel the effects.”

He added: “Psychosis isn’t just from getting high on weed; psychosis is when you’re being affected by cannabis for much longer than you should be.

“People don’t get psychosis generally from smoking because with smoking you just put the joint down when you’ve had enough and you stop inhaling.

“But with these new gummies that are on the market containing these synthetic cannabinoids, those are the problematic products.”

The British National Health Service describes synthetic cannabinoids as being “more harmful and unpredictable than cannabis”.

It states that these cannabinoids, commonly known as “spice”, are often made into a concentrated liquid used in vapes or a powder that is dissolved and sprayed on to rolling papers of plant material.

Adverse side-effects include dizziness, chest pains and heart palpations, gastrointestinal problems such as vomiting or diarrhoea, and even seizures.

Psychological effects have been known to include extreme anxiety and paranoia, suicidal thoughts and psychosis.

Mr Taalib-Din said that, although he did not sell synthetic products, his online dispensary had been impacted by the hemp crackdown for about a year.

He said that he had been in talks with customs to get his product released.

Mr Taalib-Din added that he talked to Kim Wilkerson, the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, and Michael Weeks, the Minister of National Security, who had both shown an interest in creating a working hemp industry.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice confirmed that the Attorney-General had met Mr Taalib-Din.

He said: “While the minister responsible for national drug control has responsibility for cannabis and hemp policy, the Attorney-General is aware of the growing public interest in reform and supports an open, constructive dialogue on this evolving issue.”

The justice ministry spokesman said that changes to the Misuse of Drugs Act focus on decriminalisation and that the framework for cannabis regulation is still being discussed.