4 Ways to Protect Your Health During America’s Vaping Crisis

4 Ways to Protect Your Health During America’s Vaping Crisis

4 Ways to Protect Your Health During America’s Vaping Crisis

A lung illness caused by vaping is taking hold across the United States. The CDC recently reported 1,000 illnesses and 18 deaths linked to inhalation of toxic chemicals from illegal vape and e-cig cartridges. Some of the illnesses were caused by e-juice, a liquid containing nicotine sold in pen and cartridge form, others from cannabis vape cartridges and pens. The one thing that they both have in common is that none of the confirmed products linked to the health crisis were purchased through legally operating and licensed retailers.

Still, if you’re used to vaping, it’s normal to feel nervous in the wake of ongoing distressing health news and you’re right to feel concerned. But we’d like to allay your fears and offer some tips so you can feel good about vaping your favorite cannabis concentrates again.

Here are four ways to protect your health during America’s vaping crisis:

1. Purchase ALL your products from legal, licensed dispensaries. When it comes to your health, it’s worth doing a little homework. Make sure that any retail or delivery company you use is legally registered in your state. You can verify this public information with a quick web search. Now is not the time to accept pens and cartridges from other people or purchase a “great deal” on vape pens from someone at your local park.
2. Beware of the “Good Deal.” It’s not worth saving a few bucks to purchase your products from a black-market dealer or person you know offering a killer sale from their trunk. When considering whether you should purchase potentially unsafe vape cartridges from anywhere other than a licensed dispensary to save money, consider your out of pocket healthcare costs and loss of earnings during hospitalization. The Mayo Clinic has compared the effects of affected vape cartridges as being akin to mustard gas.
3. Check your product. Still unsure about a pen or vape cartridge? Check the product carefully. Legal cannabis products are required to provide certain details on their packaging, including dates, cannabinoid percentages and batch information. Products without this material should be avoided. If you notice any flaws in the packaging such as fuzzy print, altered logos or spelling and grammar errors, you are likely looking at a counterfeit item.
4. Consider other options. If you’re still worried about potential health issues with vaping legally sourced cannabis, there are many other delivery methods to consider. Flowers, edibles, tinctures, capsules and even topicals are all viable ways to use cannabis for health and wellness.