Michigan Temporarily Halts Cannabis Vape Sales

Michigan has issued a temporary ban on cannabis vaping products sold at dispensaries throughout the state and permanently banned the use of vitamin E acetate in cannabis products, according to a WTOL11 report. Earlier this month, the federal Centers for Disease Control linked the compound to the vaping-associated pulmonary injury that has led to thousands of hospitalizations and dozens of deaths throughout the U.S.

The New York State Health Department first made the link in September.

The ban is an effort to give the Marijuana Regulatory Agency an opportunity to reinspect vape products sold in dispensaries and the agency plans to inspect vape product-producing facilities twice a month going forward to ensure they are not adding vitamin E acetate or any other potentially harmful additives.

None of the cases of the illness in Michigan have been linked to legal cannabis products and none of the products from state-approved dispensaries have tested positive for the substance.

Earlier this month, regulators in Massachusetts took a similar approach; quarantining all vape products except for those “designed to exclusively vaporize marijuana flower for medical use patients.” The Cannabis Control Commission also moved to require more detailed labeling of all cannabis vape cartridges, extracts and concentrates. Under those requirements, manufacturers must include on their ingredient list every additive used in the product, including thickening agents and specific terpenes.

The Centers for Disease Control suspects vitamin E acetate of causing 47 deaths and 2,290 illnesses nationwide; in Michigan, there are 55 recorded cases of the illness and one death.