Two deaths have been linked to the illnesses. Oregon health authorities said this week that an individual who died in July had recently used an e-cigarette or vaping device that contained cannabis purchased from a dispensary. The CDC said last week that an Illinois individual was the first death related to the disease.
Full Answer
Is vaping THC a deadly new risk to your health?
But as this more nuanced outbreak data emerges, a deadly new cannabis risk is coming into focus: vaping certain THC products, particularly those sold on the black market. And experts who study e-cigarettes and marijuana say — with 34 deaths nationwide and counting — it’s time for health regulators to catch up.
How many people have died from vaping-related illness?
Eighty-four percent of people who died in the outbreak used THC products, according to an analysis of a subset of patients. Among 19 patients who’ve died in the outbreak of vaping-related illness — a subset of the 34 total deaths for which the CDC had substance use data — 84 percent reported using THC-containing products.
Is vaping marijuana bad for Your Lungs?
Cooper says a handful of studies on vaping cannabis have suggested that using e-cigarettes is less harmful to the lungs than smoking marijuana. Perhaps in part because of that belief, vaping marijuana has grown increasingly popular.
Do medical cannabis laws increase overdose death rates?
When the analysis was extended through 2017, however, they found that the trend reversed, such that states with medical cannabis laws experienced an overdose death rate 22.7% higher than expected.
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How much will vaping sales be in 2022?
By 2022, U.S. cannabis concentrates sales, driven by vaping products, are projected to hit $8.4 billion —only slightly less than sales of marijuana flowers, according to a report from marketing firm Arcview, which focuses on the cannabis industry.
How many people have died from e-cigarettes?
Up to 450 people have developed illnesses and at least four people have died after using e-cigarettes, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said on a call with reporters Friday. While the CDC and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have not found a device, product or substance that is linked to all cases, a paper published Friday in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that many sick individuals vaped THC, a compound in marijuana, before developing an illness, either instead of or in addition to nicotine. CDC and public-health officials confirmed this finding.
How does an e-cigarette work?
E-cigarettes work by heating substances—most often liquid nicotine, but also marijuana flowers or compounds suspended in oils —into aerosols that can be inhaled. Although it’s a source of debate, this process is thought to be healthier than traditional smoking, since burning substances such as tobacco or marijuana creates byproducts that can harm the lungs and overall health. Cooper says a handful of studies on vaping cannabis have suggested that using e-cigarettes is less harmful to the lungs than smoking marijuana.
Is marijuana a Schedule 1 drug?
Since marijuana is classified as a Schedule I drug under federal law, the same category as heroin and LSD, researchers need special permission to work with it, and they’re limited to studying products that come from the only facility approved to grow marijuana for research: the University of Mississippi, which traditionally doesn’t produce things like vape oils and edibles. “We cannot study [some] products that are available to the public, which is a significant barrier to understanding the public-health implications,” Cooper, the UCLA cannabis researcher, says.
Is aping THC safe?
V aping THC may be behind many of the serious lung diseases that have been tied to e-cigarette use––raising concerns about an increasingly popular way of consuming marijuana, which many consumers view as a relatively safe habit.
Is marijuana safe to smoke?
The investigation threatens to shatter many people’s perceptions of marijuana as safe and natural, an opinion that has gained ste am as the drug is legalized in more and more states. A 2018 Gallup poll found that Americans largely view both marijuana and e-cigarettes as less harmful than cigarettes, and that more than 40% ...
Is there a substance in vape pods that is unauthorized?
The FDA is now testing more than 100 product samples used by patients who developed lung diseases after vaping, in an effort to find out exactly what’s in them and what could be causing illnesses. New York state health officials on Thursday pointed to vitamin E acetate, an unauthorized additive in some marijuana vape pods, as a focus of their investigation. But on Friday, an FDA spokesman said, “No one substance, including Vitamin E acetate, has been identified in all of the samples tested” by the agency.
Why is vaping so popular?
Vaping is popular with consumers because the battery-powered heating devices are more discreet and less smelly than traditional cigarettes or marijuana joints, and are perceive as healthier because they aren't inhaling burning plant matter.
How many states have medical marijuana?
And the 33 states that permit medical marijuana use have all adopted different rules. Colorado for instance, on Sunday will start requiring testing for potentially harmful mycotoxins produced by fungal infections on plants, more than four years after voters approved legal pot there.
Why is there no federal regulation of marijuana?
The outbreak has highlighted a growing concern nationwide: There's no federal regulation of marijuana products because the federal government bans its sale, use and possession, and considers it a substance on par with heroin and LSD.
Who is the chairman of the International Organization for Standardization Standards Committee on Vaping Products?
Standards are here to be able to create a common ground on which we can compare things, and then that’s where the regulators come into play," said Dumas de Rauly, who also serves as chairman of the International Organization for Standardization standards committee on vaping products.
Can you use vitamin E acetate in vape juice?
"Because consumers cannot be sure whether any THC vaping products may contain vitamin E acetate, consumers are urged to avoid buying vaping products on the street, and to refrain from using THC oil or modifying/adding any substances to products purchased in stores," the agency said in a Sept. 6 statement.
Is the vaping crisis real?
“The marijuana vaping crisis is real and poses a significant threat to both physical and mental health.
What is the main psychoactive substance in cannabis?
People who died as a result of a mysterious outbreak of vaping-related lung injury often used products exclusively containing THC, the main psychoactive substance in cannabis, according to new numbers released Monday by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Is the FDA taking action against vaping?
Anne Schuchat, CDC’s principal deputy director, told reporters Friday. “But I’d like to stress that we don’t know what the risky material or substance is.
Why is Marijuana Vaping Causing Injuries?
Food and Drug Administration investigators have found oil in cannabis products collected from infected patients across the country. New York’s state health department found the same chemical connected to affected New York patients. Health officials say it’s too early to tell if this first common factor is causing the injuries.
More Research and Studies Needed
Health authorities in Oregon disclosed that the middle-aged victim who died in July from a serious respiratory illness had used a vaping device with marijuana oil bought at a legal dispensary. The man’s death is the second nationwide to be linked to vaping and the first case to be connected to a product purchased at a store.
Increase in Vaping Related Injuries and Deaths
As of the first week of September, New York doctors had reported 34 cases of serious pulmonary illness among individuals between the ages of 15 and 46 who used at least one vaping product containing cannabis before becoming ill. Authorities suspect counterfeit recreational cannabis vaping products may have been used.
Vaping With Vitamin E Acetate
The practice of vaping involves heating a liquid substance in an e-cigarette device, then inhaling the vapor that may contain marijuana, nicotine or other drugs. A chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College, Michelle Francl, says the composition of vitamin E acetate is mainly grease, and “you have to heat it up pretty hot” to vaporize it.
The Effects Vaping
Utah clinicians have diagnosed a number of patients with lipoid pneumonia, a rare illness in which patients have difficulty breathing and chest pains. Doctors discovered that these individuals had abnormal, lipid-filled immune cells. Because the lungs are only designed to handle gases, they cannot break down foreign substances and get rid of them.
Are You Suffering Lung Illness Due to Vaping?
KBA Attorneys offers legal representation and assistance to those who have been injured by e-cigarettes such as Juul. Vaping is becoming a nationwide epidemic and victims can fight for compensation for their pain and suffering by working with a product liability attorney.
How many cases of THC are linked to black market?
Research in Illinois and Wisconsin uncovered the same pattern. And in New York, the state Department of Health commissioner has said the vast majority of the 125 cases there have been linked to black market THC cartridges.
Do you have to submit safety data before marketing cannabis?
But states typically don’t require manufacturers to submit safety data before marketing their products, nor do they conduct random spot checking of cannabis products at production premises to make sure that what manufacturers claim about their products is true.
Is marijuana a cause of death?
Marijuana is typically viewed as a less harmful substance since overdose is unlikely, and unlike federally legal substances — alcohol, tobacco — it’s not a major cause of death. But as this more nuanced outbreak data emerges, a deadly new cannabis risk is coming into focus: vaping certain THC products, particularly those sold on the black market. And experts who study e-cigarettes and marijuana say — with 34 deaths nationwide and counting — it’s time for health regulators to catch up.
Does Washington state have a cannabis board?
So in Washington, for example, the Liquor and Cannabis Board regulates the recreational cannabis marketplace, and products are tested for “potency, moisture, foreign matter, microbiological, mycotoxins (fungi), and residual solvents,” according to a spokesperson there. But only medical-grade products are also tested for pesticides and heavy metals.
Is there a black market for cannabis?
Meanwhile, a black market — with no safety oversight — is flourishing across the country, even in states with official cannabis markets.
Is cannabis tested in California?
In California, products are third-party tested for the same kinds of contaminants Washington looks for, and the state Department of Health’s regulations for cannabis requires “manufacturers to utilize good manufacturing practices in the production of cannabis products,” a spokesperson there said, including listing all ingredients on the label.
Is THC a problem with vape cartridges?
And it’s not so much the THC that’s the problem — remember, people have been vaping from dried herb vaporizers for years — but something gone wrong in the pre-processed liquids found in vape cartridges.
