Is this exclusively a THC problem or are you aware of any
similar concerns regarding vaping CBD?
“There is no reason to believe this wouldn’t be an issue in the
CBD space as well.
“CBD is in many ways the opposite of THC. CBD-a (the raw
acid state) is an oil. CBD (decarboxylated) is a crystalline solid.
THCa is a crystalline solid, but once decarboxylated becomes an
extremely viscous oil, even at laboratory grade purity.
“When making a high purity THC vape cartridge, you need to
dilute it only enough to allow it to wick into the coil of the vape
device. Thickeners are only used when attempting to give a
lower potency product the appearance of a high purity and
potency product, which is why this has been so prevalent on the
black market.
“With CBD however, you have the opposite problem. Getting
high potency into a vape generally can’t be done as the blend will
crystallise and solidify, ruining the cartridge. Generally anything
over 50-60% CBD, depending on what constitutes the remainder
of the cartridge, will solidify.
What needs to happen in the US?
“I think this particular issue is largely self-solved. The consensus
is all but in that it is the Vitamin E acetate. Vendors have stopped
selling the raw thickeners, initiating recalls, and otherwise
desperately trying to control the fallout.”
What advice would you give to people vaping CBD in the UK
who may be concerned about the recent headlines from the
US media?
“Read the ingredients. Ask for batch test results. Be an educated
and critically-thinking consumer. In modern developed countries
people tend to assume everything is safe, because it generally is.
We just assume everything is good because there are regulatory
agencies and watchdogs to make sure that it doesn’t happen. We
don’t really have that right now in the cannabis or CBD industry.
Aside from required testing, which really only looks for very
specific things such as very select heavy metals, residual solvents,
and pesticides, anything goes.”
The cause of these multiple deaths in the US
had not been confirmed by the authorities
at the time this magazine went to press. It’s
thought most cases are linked to illegally
obtained oil-based THC cartridges.
Public Health England has reassured those
who vape in the UK that the practice is
tightly regulated this side of the Atlantic.
However CBD e-liquids do not contain
nicotine, and as such do not fall under the
Tobacco Products Directive regulation.
“Our advice on e-cigarettes remains
unchanged — vaping isn’t completely risk
free but is far less harmful than smoking
tobacco. There is no situation where it
would be better for your health to continue
smoking rather than switching completely
to vaping. It’s important to use
UK-regulated e-liquids and never risk vaping
home-made or illicit e-liquids or adding
substances, any of which could be harmful.”
“Thickeners allow a non-solidifying solution to be used in a
cartridge.”