Amazon Pulls Products Used for Counterfeit Vape Carts

Online retailer Amazon has pulled products that could be used to make counterfeit cannabis products, including packaging connected to products used by people in New York who fell ill with a vape-linked pulmonary disease, according to an MPR News report.

Packaging for Chronic Carts and Dank Vape has been removed from the Amazon website – vape cartridges sold illegally in New York were purchased in those companies’ packaging and contained Vitamin E acetate, which the state Health Department linked to cases of the illness. Amazon also pulled counterfeit packages for Exotic Carts and “Cali Plug Carts,” along with fake “California Compliant” stickers.

The company did not remove empty cartridges.

“We require all sellers to follow our selling guidelines and have dedicated teams that use sophisticated tools, including machine learning, to keep prohibited products out of our store. We take action on those who violate our policies, including removal of selling privileges and withholding of funds.” – Amazon, in a statement to MPR News.

So far, six people have died from the vape-linked disease and those who have fallen ill have used both cannabis- and nicotine-filled cartridges. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that 60 percent of the patients affected by the illness used both THC and nicotine vape devices, while 20 percent only used nicotine. Officials were not ready to definitively link the illness to cannabis cartridges.

The CDC – and Leafly – is recommending people stop using vaping devices entirely until the cause can be determined.