CDC/FDA Issues Health Warning on Vaping, NOT Cannabis

On September 26, 2019, the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration issued a public health warning on “e-cigarette use, or vaping.” For cannabis investors, what is not said in this public health bulletin is perhaps more important than what is said.
 

• Electronic cigarettes – or e-cigarettes — are also called vapes, e-hookahs, vape pens, and electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS).
• Using an e-cigarette product is commonly called vaping.
• E-cigarettes work by heating a liquid to produce an aerosol that users inhale into their lungs.
• The liquid can contain: nicotine, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabinoid (CBD) oils, and other substances and additives.  [emphasis mine]

What is not said in this bulletin is that cannabinoids (THC or CBD) are in any way connected to these illnesses and deaths. This is a technology problem, that came into existence because of the shoddy regulatory structure in place in the United States. That’s why even some legally produced products have triggered these illnesses.

It is not, in any way, a “cannabis problem”. It is not even a cannabis vaping problem, per se. Properly manufactured vapes do not, by themselves, produce health issues. It is improperly manufactured vape pens (containing either nicotine or cannabinoids).

The difference is that we already know that nicotine will kill people, all by itself. Cannabinoids don’t kill (or harm) people, they make people healthier.

Unfortunately, poor regulation of legal vape pens and a massive black market for counterfeit products in the U.S. have allowed these defective products to reach U.S. consumers.

People “vape” in Canada? Why have there not been a rash of vaping-related illnesses north of the Border? Better regulation and law enforcement.

The victims, apart from consumers, are the cannabis companies (and their investors). Indeed, thanks to media hysteria and disinformation on this issue, even Canadian cannabis companies have seen valuations drop – due to markets that have been badly misinformed.

A regulatory failure surrounding vape pens in the United States has resulted in hundreds of illnesses and a handful of deaths. Unfortunately (for the cannabis industry) some of these illnesses are connected to poorly regulated cannabis products.

The only real connection that this health issue has to the cannabis industry is that it further emphasizes the need for the U.S. federal government to legalize cannabis immediately at the national level, so that cannabis products can be properly regulated and inspected.

This is a regulatory problem (not a cannabis problem). It requires a regulatory solution.