Colorado regulators are finalizing rules to ban certain ingredients from marijuana vaping products, following the lead of other states with legal cannabis programs in the wake of a health crisis that has sickened more than a thousand and killed over two dozen people.
At a public hearing Tuesday, Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division discussed the proposed rules that would prohibit the use of the following ingredients in cannabis concentrates or products used for inhalation:
State regulators overseeing the legal marijuana industry are adopting a wait-and-see stance as the industry determines what exactly is causing the health problems related to vaping, although California has come down more decisively against vaping of all forms.
For the most part, regulators in more than a half dozen states are reacting cautiously while public health officials work to identify the cause triggering hundreds of illnesses and seven deaths connected to e-cigarettes and marijuana vaping devices, in both the legal and illegal markets.
In a panic over recent deaths and hospitalizations, New Jersey's political leaders are considering whether to ban e-cigarettes and risk driving the booming industry of vaping underground.
At the same time, they plan to push once again to legalize marijuana and capitalize on an industry that has flourished for decades on the black market.
New Jersey took a stance on marijuana vape cartridges. New York is investigating. POLITICO New Jersey’s Ryan Hutchins reports that Democratic Senate President Steve Sweeney on Wednesday moved to ban the sale of all vaping products, including marijuana vape products. That announcement came a day after New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said “no one should be vaping until further notice.” New Jersey, though, has only a medical marijuana market that serves just over 50,000 patients.
Senate President Steve Sweeney announced his intent to ban the sale of all electronic cigarette products in New Jersey Wednesday.
“The health and safety and even the lives of young people are at risk,” Sweeney said. “The flavored products are targeted at teenagers and young adults with the intent of luring them into addiction. We should not allow another generation to get addicted to a product that lowers life expectancy and seriously damages their heart and lungs. Here is a product that we know is seriously harming the health of users, especially our youth.”