The U.S. Food and Drug Administration admonished the electric cigarette company Juul Labs last week for claims that its products are safer than conventional cigarettes. 

In a letter dated September 9, the FDA warned the company over its assertions that the Juul is “much safer than cigarettes,” and that the “FDA would approve it any day,” among other claims that the FDA says it didn’t authorize.

The agency said it determined that the company claimed, in presentations to students made by Juul representatives, that its e-cigarettes constituted  “modified risk tobacco products without an FDA order in effect that permits such sale or distribution.”

“Referring to your [electronic nicotine delivery system, or “ENDS,”] products as ‘99% safer’ than cigarettes, ‘much safer’ than cigarettes, ‘totally safe,’ and ‘a safer alternative than smoking cigarettes’ is particularly concerning because these statements were made directly to children in school,” the letter said. “Our concern is amplified by the epidemic rate of increase in youth use of ENDS products, including JUUL’s products, and evidence that ENDS products contribute to youth use of, and addiction to, nicotine, to which youth are especially vulnerable.”

The FDA asked Juul for a written response to the letter within 15 days

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A short walk from police headquarters in the heart of downtown Los Angeles, a cluster of bustling shops are openly selling packaging and hardware that can be used to produce counterfeit marijuana vapes that have infected California’s cannabis market.

Bootleggers eager to profit off unsuspecting consumers are mimicking popular, legal vape brands, pairing replica packaging churned out in Chinese factories with untested, possibly dangerous cannabis oil produced in the state’s vast underground market.

The result: Authentic-looking vape cartridges sold by unlicensed dispensaries and delivery services, along with rogue websites.

The deceptive rip-offs on the street could be linked to an emerging public health crisis. Hundreds of people across the U.S. have been sickened, mainly by vaping cannabis oil. Seven deaths have been reported, the latest on Monday in California’s Tulare County.

Public health officials aren’t sure what’s causing the breathing issues, vomiting and other symptoms, but in California they say most patients reported purchasing vapes from pop-up shops or other illegal sellers that are a pipeline for counterfeit products.

The problem has gotten so pervasive that a major legal brand, Kingpen, is investing millions of dollars to redesign its packaging and product security, The Associated Press has learned.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will spend $20 million on a public awareness campaign about the dangers of vaping nicotine and cannabis products and step up efforts to halt the sale of illicit products amid a rise in vaping-related illnesses.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the actions Monday as part of an executive order.

Many of the hundreds of nationwide vaping illnesses appear linked to use of cannabis-based oils, though some people reported vaping nicotine products, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. California has seen at least 63 cases and one of the six deaths reported around the country.

At the same time, flavored e-cigarettes made by companies such as Juul Labs are contributing to a rise in youth smoking. The public awareness campaign Newsom announced aims to tackle all forms of vaping, he said.

“As a father of four, this has been an issue that has been brought to the forefront of my consciousness,” he said.

While President Donald Trump and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo have announced plans to ban the sale of flavored e-cigarettes, Newsom said he doesn’t have similar executive authority. But he said he wants lawmakers to send him legislation to do so next year.

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Online cannabis platform Weedmaps announced last Wednesday new details of its plan to remove listings and advertising for unlicensed websites from its services. Weedmaps announced last month that it would work to remove listings for unlicensed cannabis businesses in California, responding to criticism that including them was contributing to the state’s illicit market marijuana sales. The company also announced that it would take steps to support regulated businesses owned by minority entrepreneurs.

“Just three weeks ago, we announced a first-of-its-kind program to help social equity participants gain a rightful foothold in the cannabis industry. We also announced our plan to use the power of our platform to help support licensed cannabis businesses,” said Chris Beals, the CEO of Weedmaps, in a press release on Wednesday. “While these policy changes will only have a symbolic impact on the size of California’s unlicensed market without more licensing opportunities and other large listing platforms following suit, we want to continue to lead by example.”

Weedmaps said it plans to make several enhancements to its website to support licensed businesses, including a new user interface to highlight license information to make it more visible. The company also plans to develop online resources to help

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Cannamedical Pharma (located in Cologne) received a commercial shipment of medical marijuana from a company in Portugal. According to High Times, although shipper wasn’t made public, last month Tilray Portugal announced that it had come to an agreement with Cannamedical to export medicinal cannabis to Germany.

“The European market is clearly developing its ability to grow and ship world-class medicinal cannabis products, which is an important step in the development of the EU medicinal cannabis market, which we believe will be the world’s largest. Cannamedical continues to demonstrate that our approach as the leading independent importer of finding the best products in all supply markets to serve to our patients can establish milestones within the industry,” said David Henn, the CEO of Cannamedical. “We are proud of the contribution we are making to provide a stable supply of medicinal cannabis to patients in Germany and thankful for our world-class supply partners”. Davis notes that the medical marijuana received by Cannamedical will be packaged in Germany and should be ready for patients beginning in mid-October.

In Frankfurt, Cansativa received a sample shipment of medical cannabis oils for testing purposes, reports High Times. The cannabis oil was produced in Australia,

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An Oregon analytic laboratory is offering a new test for cannabis products to detect the presence of vitamin E acetate, an additive that has been implicated in the rash of vaping-related lung illnesses that have sickened hundreds and led to at least six deaths. Pixis Labs in Portland began conducting the test for consumers on Monday, according to a report in local media.

Pixis Labs developed the test after it was announced that state and federal health officials were looking into the possibility that vitamin E acetate, also known as Alpha-tocopherol acetate, could be associated with the hundreds of pulmonary illnesses that have been reported in dozens of states. The substance, a supplement designed for oral or topical use, is sometimes used to thin or dilute the cannabis oil in vape cartridges.

Derrick Tanner, the general manager of Pixis Labs, said that the company has tested several cannabis oils from existing customers to validate the process, although he declined to say if any vitamin E acetate was detected in the samples provided. He also said that he expects the new test to generate considerable interest from not only consumers but the cannabis industry, as well.

“Anyone who’s […] not even

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CBD edibles and vapes spiked with a variety of synthetic marijuana compounds have found their way to consumers in Louisiana, Maryland and nearly a dozen other states, according to a nationwide Associated Press investigation into unregulated cannabidiol products. Synthetic marijuana, often marketed as K2 or Spice, has been linked to mass hospitalizations and other health emergencies across the U.S. and Europe. While they have nothing to do with cannabis plants, synthetic marijuana chemicals somewhat mimic the activity of cannabinoids, but they are significantly more potent. Adverse reactions to synthetic marijuana range from fainting and dizziness to vomiting, heart and lung illness, coma, and even death.

Investigation Uncovers CBD Vape Cartridges and Edibles Spiked with Synthetic Marijuana

The U.S. hemp-derived cannabidiol industry is growing rapidly, thanks to the lifting of the ban on hemp products. But unregulated, untested CBD products still dominate the market. And while many products come from reputable companies that are as transparent as possible about their manufacturing processes, some originate from sources that are lacing products with dangerous synthetic chemicals.

The term synthetic marijuana is somewhat of a misnomer. It’s a catch-all term for unknown chemical mixtures sprayed on or added to smokable herbs and flowers and

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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah lawmakers are expected to meet Monday night to consider changes to the state’s medical marijuana law, an issue that has faced fierce criticism from people on both sides of the debate.

The proposed changes include scrapping plans for an unusual state-run dispensary system and adopting protections for patients who are concerned they could be prosecuted for drug crimes.

Utah backtracked from the state-run dispensary after county attorneys expressed concern that such a system would put public employees at risk of being prosecuted under federal drug laws.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Evan Vickers, who drafted the law, has proposed increasing the number of private dispensaries from seven to 12.

Lawmakers are also expected to discuss issues with and land use ordinances that could prevent growers from having medical marijuana ready for patients by next year.

During a tense public hearing last week, medical marijuana advocates and conservative groups sparred over amendments regarding the distribution and prosecution of drug crimes.

Members of the conservative group Utah Eagle Forum lamented the loss of the state-run dispensary system, while some medical marijuana advocates raised concern that 12 private dispensaries wouldn’t be enough to meet growing patient demand.

An

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Thailand’s Bhumjaithai Party has announced that it will be proposing a bill that will allow the country’s households to grow up to six cannabis plants. Thailand has a long tradition of using cannabis and the kratom plant for wellness purposes. It was the first Southeastern Asian country to regulate medicinal cannabis in 2018, when a law was passed unanimously in favor of the policy change.

“The principle is for medical use,” said Bhumjaithai Party official Supachai Jaisamut. “You can have it at home for ailments, but not smoke it on the street.” Jaisamut estimated that the law could come to a vote in the next six months.

Such a bill would break the current monopoly held by the Thai government on marijuana production, and empower doctors outside of governmental hospitals to treat patients with their own supply.

The legislation would also establish a governmental agency called the Plant-Based Drug Institute, which would be authorized to buy, extract, and export CBD. That organization would also be in charge of overseeing the sale of marijuana plants, which is being seen as a boon to Thailand’s developing medical cannabis industry.

Thailand’s government does seem committed to supporting its medical marijuana producers and users.

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The second great Canadian cannabis rush is nearing the starting line, with pot entrepreneurs looking to stand out amid an onslaught of soon-to-be-legal edibles on the market.

Legal cannabis edibles and other derivatives are expected to grow Canada’s cannabis market by three million consumers, or 65 per cent, according to a poll commissioned earlier this year by a leading industry data collector.

The survey, conducted with 3,000 respondents last May by Lift & Co. and Ernst and Young, suggests the country’s 4.6 million adult cannabis users will grow to about 7.6 million after a wider variety of non-smokable licensed products go on store shelves at year’s end.

If so, that would see the percentage of adult Canadians consuming the drug grow to at least 23 per cent.

– Read the entire article at Cagary Herald.

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