Table of Contents
- 1 The Rise of Vapes
- 1.1 What is a Black Market CBD Vape?
- 1.2 Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
- 1.3 Serious Conditions are True
- 1.4 BlackMarket Concentrates Examined
- 1.5 Harmful Chemicals in Confiscated Cartridges
- 1.6 Purity is Key One
- 1.7 Cutting Purity in Black Market Products
- 1.8 Recognizing Counterfeit Packaging or Fake Companies:
- 1.9 Rule of Thumb
- 1.10 Being Safe and Good Decisions
- 1.11 Uphill Battle
Lung Disease and the Blackmarket
Blackmarket CBD is a dangerous business for seller and buyers. If you are considering the option to pick up a CBD oil vape pen starter kit, you may be extremely tempted to go with a low-cost option from the black market or a discount retailer. While there is plenty of choice in getting cost savings with a vape, it may be wise to trust a long-standing vape sales site with your patronage instead.
Blackmarket vapes have since been linked to cases of lung disease now spanning 15 states. Choosing a vape kit from a legal vape shop may be a far better solution to enjoying vape juice, CBD oil and more.
The Rise of Vapes
It is quite likely that you have heard of the merits of vaporizing material. CBD vape kits are being used by people much more readily than ever before. This type of technology is much safer than combusting materials and this method is seen as highly safe in both recreational and medical circles. When a product starts to become popular however there are a whole host of other retailers and individuals that are working to create offbrand versions of the popular vapes.
In the United States there are a number of people that are getting sick from these black market vaporizers. With current reports of lung disease now spanning over 15 states in a number of cases doctors are working to examine some of the devices that are making people sick.
Burlington WI
In a recent case in Burlington Wisconsin at 26 rolled was hospitalized and placed in a coma after using an offbrand blackmarket vape cartridge. The components inside caused him to get extremely sick and since he continued to use these offbrand cartridges, he would eventually develop a case of lung disease.
Therehasbeen 35 similar cases logged across the United States and each one of them has something to do with a black market vape that is not produced using a well-known manufacturer.
What is a Black Market CBD Vape?
Black market vapes are products that were purchased from illegal shop. What typically happens, is used up and empty cartridges will be shipped over to factories overseas, refilled and then sold onto the black market.
Before many of these items hit our market, they will be filled up with dangerous chemicals to dilute some of the expensive and concentrated oils that would typically be in the cartridge. This leads to a much cheaper refill but the chance that a person could be ingesting potentially dangerous or harmful chemicals.
In the News?
These types of black market vapes have been making the news quite regularly and a number of retailers are working to pull products that they know do not meet manufacturing standards from the shelves.
When it comes to making your own purchases it’s a very good idea to choose a cartridge and vaporizer products that have been rigorously tested and acknowledged as safe.
Where did these Black Market Concentrates Come From?
If you have been using CBD vape kits for a while, it’s likely that you may have come across the option to purchase one of these blackmarket vapes or the concentrates.
Legalization of Recreational Marijuana
Since the legalization of recreational marijuana in 2018 throughout California there have been ongoing regulations for production, distribution and sale of cannabis related products throughout the entire state. Almost every product needs to go through proper testing which can be expensive in order to receive approval.
Because of the expense associated with the approval of cannabis related products there is still a massive blackmarket for CBD related products as well as marijuana products throughout the state of California.
Less Scrutiny Spells Trouble
Although these companies can operate with less legal scrutiny due to the legalization they cannot legally sell these products out of dispensaries or other approved stores.
It’s estimated that only 20% of the cannabis products grown and created in California are actually legally sold and consumed there. The preloaded cartridges and blackmarket products make up the bulk of the market and almost all of the producers of these products do not rigorously test their products before sale.
Black Market Bait
Shortly after the legalization effort police actually discovered a large storage of thousands of blackmarket bait cartridges they contained pure hash oil. This happenedon June 6, 2018 and there have continued to be a series of cartridge raids undertaken by police since then.
What’s even more surprising about these cartridges are that they are branded with their own unique packaging and they look just like any other legitimate package that you would find at a local dispensary.
What Effect are they having on Health?
Sadly, blackmarket vaporizers are causing a number of health of facts and most patients that are affected often come in with symptoms that resembled pneumonia. It starts off with a severely progressing flu with a cough and in many cases patients are being misdiagnosed and sent home with antivirals for antibiotics.
Serious Conditions are True
Incredibly, the condition that many of these patients are presenting with as a result of blackmarket vaping is called ARDS or SARDS in some cases as well. These conditions are acute respiratory distress syndrome and severe acute respiratory distress syndrome. In some areas of the United States this is actually starting to become been named lung disease associated with vaping using untested products.
The early symptoms that many experience include an extreme shortness of breath and difficulty with breathing. A cough eventually begins followed by chest pain and dizziness. A number of patients also present with gastrointestinal problems and a fever.
Progression
These conditions continue to progress and in some extreme cases patients will need to utilize breathing tubes in order to get oxygen. These conditions would often be caused as a result of caustic substance inhalation usually in a hazardous workplace environment.
The condition also seems to progress differently depending on the types of chemicals that each patient is exposed to. As many patients have used several different types of vape cartridges through the progression of their condition, it is still not known which chemical additive in black market vapes that causes the most severe reaction.
BlackMarket Concentrates Examined
In some lab testing on confiscated cartridges it was revealed that many of the cartridges that were offered up on the black market contain a number of serious chemicals including insecticides, fungicides and toxins like hydrogen cyanide.
Shockingly, many of these fungicides and insecticides are actually found in the use of growing crops but they are deemed illegal for use across the United States. Chemicals like hydrogen cyanide work as a chemical asphyxia and a systematic process and this can interfere with our ability to absorb oxygen to our organs.
Harmful Chemicals in Confiscated Cartridges
Because confiscated cartridges that have been tested often contain thousands of times more myclobutanil and other harmful chemicals that are allowed under regulation, situations can occur that spell trouble. Your legal processing and filling of these cartridges, with the contaminated oil, seems to be growing in popularity as well.
With the unregulated use of chemicals in cannabis products it’s no wonder that there have been an increase case of poisoning and conditions associated with vaping. Many of these reports of poisoning and extreme difficulty come from cartridges and oils that were purchased from an unregulated dispensary as well as at convenience stores and truck stops.
Unbelievably, out of many of the cartridges that have been purchased and tested under lab standards scientist have found everything from unregulated chemical mixtures to think that it cannabinoids and cough syrup.
Purity is Key One
Checking the purity of the cannabinoids and active ingredients in any vape oil can help to protect you before you start the process of using a vaporizer. The easiest way to monitor the purity and the quality of the materials that you’re using is to check into the manufacturer first.
If the company has been in business for many years and are known for producing a good quality of product, it’s likely that you have a much better experience. Working with a company that actually test out their products well will also ensure that you can get access to items that offer consistent purity.
Active substances in the plant will translate into the vape cartridge and deliver a consistent purity every time.
Cutting Purity in Black Market Products
The main motivation for all of the chemical additives in these products often comes down to the idea of cost savings. When a produced oil reaches the dealer or manufacturer that is producing a blackmarket product, it’s often their goal to cut down the CBD oil for vaping with a series of other oils so that they can make more of the active ingredients last.
Popular ways to cut down the oil includes adding extra VG oil, MCT and chemical components that can adjust the potency of the oil while allowing the manufacturer to cut down on the actual purity of active CBD ingredients.
Making Changes
Adding these steps and changing the purity of these products leads to the chance of a number of contaminants making their way into the oils. With the cheaper oils and as they continue to make their way into the market, there is a chance that they can continue to be contaminated as they are packaged and processed.
There is even a number of manufacturers that will purchase these blackmarket cartridges or empty cartridges and then sell them with hash oil in them illegally. While these manufacturers and products can be more difficult to find, these are products that are entering into the market and harming the health of vape users.
Cost vs Expense
The current legal market is unable to supply individuals with vape products at the price point that they would like. This is why so many manufacturers have stepped forward to start creating these products. As the blackmarket supply continues to increase, so do the number of cases regarding health effects and vaping.
Recognizing Counterfeit Packaging or Fake Companies:
What is often happening in online stores and with the sale of vaping products is blackmarket manufacturers are producing boxes that look completely legitimate. They are often in packages that resemble completely legal products.
Some of these brands have even risen to some prominence and you can find them sold at a number of truck stops across the United States illegally.
These types of counterfeit packaging can be a major problem for consumers because they look so much like legitimate vaporizers and cartridges but they can actually do harm to the individuals that buy them.
Many of the top manufacturers have responded to these changes in packaging by creating vaporizer serial numbers, holograms on packaging and more. Introducing these types of counterfeit prevention tactics is helping to keep the legitimate vaporizer market alive and its also making sure the dispensaries are able to quickly verify the product that they are getting in as well.
Telling the Difference
It is quite difficult to tell the difference between certain counterfeit vaporizers and vaporizers that have been manufactured under strict standards. Fake pen cartridges often come with zero testing and the liquid inside as well as the cartridge looks exactly the same as a product that has been rigorously tested.
These are products that are often designed to combust materials and handle extremely thick oil so that the cartridges can be cut with thicker chemicals for a cheaper production rate.
Rule of Thumb
A good rule of thumb is that if you are buying your CBD vape kit from informal website or dispensary, there is a good chance you will be getting a product that is produced for the blackmarket. Even if you are purchasing these items over the counter in a state where CBD vape kits are legal, there are many small business owners that cannot tell the difference between the legitimate product or the counterfeit product.
There are a few dispensaries that have even switched suppliers and ended up with counterfeit products by mistake.
Being Safe and Good Decisions
For buyers that are purchasing CBD vaporizersin areas where they are still currently illegal, it can be almost impossible to know what should be purchased. As they will likely have to rely on productswhich is producedinthe blackmarket, it’s important to take a bit of caution in mind. It’s likely that if the price is too good to be true it really is a fake product. In order to sell CBD vape kits in a state where they are currently prohibited it’s likely that someone would have to justify the cost of transporting them as well as the risk. If you are picking up a vape kit with the serial number, hologram and at a price point that is above retail, there is a good chance you have ended up with something legitimate.
Uphill Battle
Companies will continue to replicate the success of major manufacturers and produce near identical copies. Even though the cartridges are easy to replicate and the vaporizers can be easy to replicate for the same look, the components in the chemicals found in the products are bound to be different. Cutting costs will not be worth your health. All in all, buy your CBD oil vape pen starter kit from the high trust website or a formal dispensary as possible as you can.