This Vape Epidemic Is Exactly Why I Don’t Use CBD

I believe in the health benefits of cannabinoids but don’t use them.

As a former CNN White House Producer and journalist at CNN I know how to do my research – and I know a lot about policy. When I left CNN, I started reporting on the budding (excuse the pun) marijuana and hemp industry. I was fascinated that back in 2016 I knew I was seeing the start of a seismic shift in the way Americans – and eventually the world – would view cannabis. It only took 3 years to shif the anti-cannabis stigmas to what we see today; marijuana as medicine and hemp (aka CBD) as a supplement.

The Ugly Truth About Cannabis

Firsthand, I saw – and continue to see – shoddy manufacturing practices and consumers being blindly led into ingesting questionable cannabis products into their bodies by on-point branding and marketing. I know too much about cannabis. I was at the inaugural conference at the Univ. of Colorado at Boulder for the Institute of Cannabis Research. I met Dr. Sue Sisley, Dr. Uma, Dr. Mechoulam. I wrote about their research, as well as the business and politics of cannabis for Westword, Leafly, Dope, Herb.co, The Marijuana Times, The Fresh Toast, Sensi, The Weed Blog and Cannabis Now Mag. That’s why I believe in the health benefits of cannabinoids but don’t use them.

Vaping Turns Deadly

Now our youth is hooked on vapes. Many of which contain CBD or THC. The CDC reports that in a single year, the number of high schoolers vaping went from 220,000 in 2011 to over 3 million. Now, we are starting to see the results of a largely unregulated industry.

“It’s the safe alternative to smoking”

“I vape CBD as a supplement”

“It’s just vapor”

These excuses have resulted in millions of Americans vaping and now we are seeing the result of a highly unregulated industry.

Five deaths have been reported. As of September 6, CDC officials had received reports of over 450 possible cases of lung disease tied to e-cigarettes across the US. Recently, Michigan went as far as to ban the sale of vaping products for six months. Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) told MSNBC, “As governor, I’m going to do it unilaterally until I can get the legislature to adopt a statute and write it into law.”

Symptoms of lung disease include:

• Pneumonia
• Shortness of breath
• Coughing
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Respiratory failure
  

This ‘Wild West’ Mentality Must End

It’s about time America starts to propose regulations to impose upon the hundreds of thousands of short-lived boot-strapped CBD companies trying to make a quick buck in a new and unregulated market. A good starting point would be taking a look at our friends across the pond and perhaps up north in Canada.

Martin Dockrell is the Head of Tobacco Control at Public Health England. According to the British official, “Unlike the US, all e-cigarette products in the UK are tightly regulated for quality and safety by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and they operate the Yellow Card Scheme, encouraging vapors to report any bad experiences.”

The advice in the meantime from American health professionals has been to avoid vaping altogether while investigations take place.

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Chloe Sommers is Editor Emeritus of the Never Daunted Radio Network. You can reach her on Twitter @ChloeCannaNews