This has been going on for some time now and finally we are seeing the truth come out. I’m not busting on the government for the delay, there are many things including being lied to about THC use which have thwarted the investigation.

This “vaping crisis” has been reported to have sickened over 2,000 people and killed at least 39. Early on we knew THC cartridges were in large to blame, but many people when questioned about the use of THC were not honest for fear of legal ramifications.

On Friday, November 8, 2019 the CDC announced a breakthrough in it’s investigation. I’m going to pull some highlights with an effort not to take anything out of context.

CDC CONTINUES INVESTIGATING THE OUTBREAK OF LUNG INJURY ASSOCIATED WITH THE USE OF E-CIGARETTE OR VAPING PRODUCTS, TOGETHER WITH THE STATE AND LOCAL HEALTH DEPARTMENTS AND FEDERAL PARTNERS SUCH AS FDA. THERE ARE NOW 2,051 CASES OF E-CIGARETTE OR VAPING PRODUCT ASSOCIATED LUNG INJURY REPORTED FROM 49 STATES, D.C. AND THE U.S. VIRGIN ISLANDS. UNFORTUNATELY, 39 PEOPLE HAVE DIED FROM THIS CONDITION AS OF NOVEMBER 5th AND WE ARE AWARE THAT ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS ARE ONGOING.

THE TREND IN CASES APPEARS TO BE DOWNWARD, BUT WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOME STATES ARE STILL HARD HIT AND THIS S CONTINUES TO BE A VERY ACTIVE INVESTIGATION.

WHAT WE KNOW FROM THE LABORATORY METHODS THAT WE PUT IN PLACE TO LOOK FOR POTENTIAL TOXINS FROM E-CIGARETTE OR VAPING PRODUCTS COMES FROM BRONCHOALVEOLAR LAVAGE – OR BAL – FLUID SAMPLES FROM PATIENTS WHO SUFFERED THESE LUNG INJURIES. THESE ARE SAMPLES OF FLUID COLLECTED FROM THE LUNGS OF ILL PATIENTS. TODAY’S MMWR REPORT DESCRIBES LAB TESTING OF A CONVENIENCE SAMPLE OF BAL SAMPLES FROM 29 PATIENTS WITH EVALI THAT WERE SUBMITTED TO CDC FROM TEN DIFFERENT STATES THROUGH THE END OF OCTOBER. THC AND A POTENTIAL TOXIN, VITAMIN E ACETATE, WERE DETECTED IN MANY. THE VITAMIN E ACETATE WAS FOUND IN ALL SAMPLES AND THC WAS IN 23 OF 28 SAMPLES THAT WERE TESTED. NICOTINE WAS FOUND IN 61%, OR 16 OF 26, SAMPLES THAT WERE TESTED. AND, AGAIN, VITAMIN E ACETATE WAS FOUND IN ALL 29 SAMPLES TESTED.

THESE FINDINGS PROVIDE DIRECT EVIDENCE OF VITAMIN E ACETATE AT THE PRIMARY SITE OF INJURY WITHIN THE LUNGS. AND THE SAMPLES REFLECT PATIENTS FROM STATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY.

VITAMIN E ACETATE IS A VITAMIN FOUND IN MANY FOODS AND IS ALSO AVAILABLE IN SUPPLEMENTS AND COSMETIC PRODUCTS LIKE SKIN CREAM. VITAMIN E ACETATE IS ALSO A KNOWN ADDITIVE USED TO DILUTE LIQUID IN E-CIGARETTE OR VAPING PRODUCTS THAT CONTAIN THC. VITAMIN E ACETATE DOES USUALLY NOT CAUSE HARM WHEN SWALLOWED AS A VITAMIN SUPPLEMENT OR APPLIED TOPICALLY TO THE SKIN. HOWEVER, PREVIOUS NON-CDC RESEARCH SUGGESTS THAT WHEN VITAMIN E ACETATE IS INHALED, IT MAY INTERFERE WITH NORMAL LUNG FUNCTION.

QUESTION – BROWN>> HI, GOOD MORNING.  DO WE FIND THE VITAMIN E ACETATE IN NON-THC VAPE LIQUID?  IS IT IN THE STUFF THAT IS LEGITIMATELY PRODUCED AND SOLD OR IS IT SOMETHING THAT SEEMS TO BE EXCLUSIVE TO THIS EITHER BLACK MARKET OR OFF-THE-STREET PRODUCT THAT MAY NOT BE LEGITIMATE?

ANSWER – SCHUCHAT>> THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION.  IT’S POSSIBLE THAT VITAMIN E ACETATE IN VERY SMALL AMOUNTS MAY BE USED IN SOME E-LIQUID MATERIAL FOR A VARIETY OF REASONS.  I THINK SOME OF THE OTHER LABORATORY REPORTS FROM FDA AND THE STATE LABS HAVE MENTIONED HIGH CONCENTRATIONS OF VITAMIN E ACETATE AND THAT MAY BE DONE FOR MORE THE ILLICIT PURPOSES OR THE PROFIT PURPOSES OF DILUTING THE MATERIALS AND MAKING IT LOOK NICE AND PERHAPS NOT HAVING TO USE AS MUCH THC OR OTHER ACTIVE INGREDIENTS. BUT IT COULD POTENTIALLY BE USED IN A VARIETY OF SUBSTANCES. IN THOSE THAT WERE TESTED SO FAR, IT’S PRIMARILY BEEN THC-CONTAINING E-LIQUIDS THAT HAVE THE VITAMIN E.

People have been “dabing” and vaping THC for a long time without issue, then THC oil was “cut” with a product known as “Honey Cut” and other brand names which contains Vitamin E acetate. The process of cutting has been practiced by drug dealers for a century or more. The company that made “Honey Cut” pulled the product and are they under investigation. When the THC juice producers started using “honey cut” to cut the THC oil, only then did people start getting sick because “Honey Cut” is VITAMIN E.

In recent years we have seen a great many deaths due to drugs such as heroin & cocaine laced with Fentanyl. Some of the things used to “cut” drugs in order to make them more powerful, bulk them up and certainly stretch them out for higher profits will absolutely disgust you. Agents like rat poison, laundry detergent, Levamisole (veterinary de-worming agent) and more! EWWWW!!

Let’s not lay all of this on the drug dealers…. Legitimate THC products may be using Vitamin E acetate as well. Vaping is not the only industry that needs more transparency and unfortunately regulations to keep people safe, the Cannabis industry certainly needs to do better. In fact, the vaping industry is already more transparent about ingredients and such than the Cannabis product manufacturers. If you use Cannabis, make sure it’s genuine medical as ONLY medical grade is tested for pesticides and heavy metals. I imagine Vitamin E Acetate will be added to their list =P

It seems that nothing is safe now-a-days, but managing your risk in life will serve you well. For example, vaping may not be safe, but it is safer than cigarettes. So when I used vaping to quit smoking cigarettes, I managed the risk by reducing the danger. Now I vape ZERO Nicotine juice and soon I won’t need to vape at all. If you need to use CBD/THC manage your risk too. Use qualified vendors and don’t vape the oils… Smoke your Cannabis the old fashioned way… Less risk!