Some of the recent news stories read like Onion headlines, too. For instance, cops found weed cartridges in Indiana that resembled kids cereal boxes. One New Jersey case cited a teenager who stabbed a man over a cannabis-cartridge deal gone wrong. Who stabs someone over weed these days?
Just like eBay Air Jordans, discount smartphones, designer bags, and anything else with a brand name that can be purchased on Craigslist or at a swap meet, a number of legal cannabis companies have had their branding and packaging counterfeited by foreign manufacturers and distributors, causing a flood of bootleg vape cartridges filled with untested and unregulated cannabis oil sold across the globe. As a result, the underground market has created a seemingly never-ending uphill battle for some of the legal weed industry’s leading companies.