We have all seen the headlines on the news and social media: “ANOTHER DEATH FROM VAPING”. Numbers of people, mostly teens and young adults, have been admitted to the hospital, put on respirators and some dying due to respiratory failure. The culprit is allegedly e-cigarettes and vape oils. Many of these elicit vape cartridges contain THC and are adulterated with thinning agents; like polyethylene glycol, coconut oil (MCT), arisals, vitamin E acetate, and whatever crap the wanna put in there to make an extra buck.

KNOW WHAT YOU ARE INHALING…

With a wide variety of vaping products and devices available for consumers using tobacco, recreational and medical marijuana you need to know what is in these products before you use them. Unfortunately, it is visibly very difficult to tell what is in a vape cartridge; unlike whole flower marijuana products that you can tell if it’s any good with physical inspection. You also need to know the correct temperatures products should be vaporized at since the variance of temperature can change the chemical structure of substances being vaped.

TO VAPE OR NOT TO VAPE?

People have smoked substances throughout history. Tobacco, opium, marijuana, etc we know the effects of these. There have been lots of tests done on tobacco. It is tested by the FDA and is regulated at a federal and state level. The fact of the matter is that vaping products are unregulated and not tested by the FDA. Vaping? Who knows anything about what it does to the lungs or it’s effects on the body after long term use? Nobody. People haven’t been vaping that long to know anything and there’s very little scientific data available about vaporizing. Many of the people who are sickened by vaping are young adults. I don’t know if you’ve ever watched young people vaporize but they have these huge battery powered vaping devices and will try to blow the biggest clouds all day long. Many of the young people have never even smoked cigarettes before. Me, I come from a generation where everyone smoked cigarettes: we smoked in restaurants, courthouses and doctors offices. So our lungs are probably better conditioned or seasoned to handle vaping than a millennial. I have dubbed it VLS (Virgin Lung Syndrome). This is just through observation. I am not a doctor nor has any of this information come from testing or clinical trials.

Vaporization products are available everywhere from the streets to gas stations to medical marijuana Treatment Centers. If you must vaporize then you may want to consider using a dry herb vaporizer, that way you’ll be able to inspect what you are vaping. Do not use illicit oil vape cartridges, these are not tested, so there’s no telling what’s really in there. Purchase your products from established businesses or from an MMTC. If you’re ordering online then make sure your products are coming from a credible source and not from some street vendor in China. Avoid products containing any adulterants. Read the packaging and incerts. Even many vape oil products purchased at MMTCs are formulated using coconut oil and other thinning agents. Buy only tested and DOH approved vape oil products that are CO2 extracted and contain natural terpenes and flavonoids extracted from the marijuana plant itself. Don’t buy products that are cut with coconut oil. You may also may want to consider a metered vaping device that gives you the correct measured dose and vaporizes at the correct temperature such as the Dosist available at Surterra.

Also, you may find another route of administration such as edibles, oral and topical application may work well. Me, I’m gonna stick to the old fashion way, so roll it up and smoke em if you got em .

Brian Vitale
FLCAN