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San Diego Lab Finds Nearly 80 Percent of Illicit Vape Cartridges are Tainted

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[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] cannabis testing lab in San Diego, California recently released alarming results from illicit vape cartridge tests.

Infinite Chemical Testing Labs (InfiniteCAL) found 79 percent of tested cartridges were unfit for consumption. The testing showed 62 percent of cartridges failed for pesticides, and 40 percent of cartridges failed for lead, with one cartridge testing for over one hundred times the legal limit of lead.

About 20 percent of cartridges tested positive for vitamin E acetate, which the Centers for Disease Control named as the culprit behind vape related lung illnesses. Testing also revealed half of the vape cartridges tested had less than 50 percent THC.

Platinum Vape teamed up with Mankind, a legal cannabis dispensary in San Diego, to buy back cartridges that ranged from homemade cartridges to counterfeits of popular legal brands. Customers were able to trade in their illicit cartridges for a discount on regulated and tested Platinum Vape cartridges. Platinum Vape co-founder George Sadler said illicit vape cartridges do so much more harm to people versus just waling into a legal dispensary. “We wanted to encourage them to replace something that could make them sick with something that was safe,” said Mankind Chief Operating Officer Vera Levitt.

The San Diego Superior Court also filed a lawsuit against JUUL on behalf of the San Diego Unified School District that accuses JUUL of “disrupting the learning environment” and causing an increase in absences due to vaping related illnesses.

“Our district is in the business of educating students in a healthy and safe environment,” said San Diego Unified Superintendent Cindy Marten. “This lawsuit supports district goals by holding Juul accountable for its harmful marketing practices and unsafe products.”

The CDC’s most updated report on the vape-related lung illness from last year states that an estimated 2,807 people tested positive. Sixty-eight deaths were confirmed among 29 different states, as well as the District of Columbia.

 

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