Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Wall Street Hits Over One-Week Low on Tariff Uncertainty, Data in Focus

6 hours ago

US Judge Blocks Trump Administration’s Use of Troops in Los Angeles

6 hours ago

Garnet Fire in Fresno County Grows to 26,982 Acres, 12% Contained

6 hours ago

US Construction Spending Dips in July

6 hours ago

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

4 days ago

US Air Force will Offer Military Funeral Honors to Slain Capitol Rioter

4 days ago

US Republican Senator Joni Ernst Will Not Run for Re-Election, CBS News Reports

4 days ago

Minneapolis Children Revealed Courage, Absorbed Fear During Church Shooting

5 days ago
California Tests Find Illegal Vapes Tainted With Additives
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
January 28, 2020

Share

LOS ANGELES — California officials announced Monday that marijuana vape cartridges seized in illegal shops in Los Angeles contained potentially dangerous additives, including a thickening agent blamed for a national outbreak of deadly lung illnesses tied to vaping.

“The prevalence of dirty and dangerous vape pens at unlicensed cannabis stores demonstrate how important it is for consumers to purchase cannabis goods from licensed retailers, which are required to sell products that meet state testing and labeling standards.” — Lori Ajax, who heads California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control
Officials also found that the illegal vapes confiscated in the December raids typically were not as potent as advertised, and sometimes contained just a fraction of the THC claimed on the labels, according to state testing results. THC is the chemical in marijuana that makes users feel high.
The findings highlight the risk for consumers at underground shops and delivery services that are common in Los Angeles and elsewhere around California, officials said.
“The prevalence of dirty and dangerous vape pens at unlicensed cannabis stores demonstrate how important it is for consumers to purchase cannabis goods from licensed retailers, which are required to sell products that meet state testing and labeling standards,” said Lori Ajax, who heads California’s Bureau of Cannabis Control.
The state conducted tests on the marijuana oil contained in a random sample of more than 10,000 illegal vape pens seized in the Los Angeles raids.

Nearly All Samples Were Labeled With Incorrect THC Content

The tests found that 75% of the vapes contained undisclosed additives, including the thickening agent vitamin E acetate, which has been blamed by federal regulators for the majority of lung illnesses tied to the outbreak.
In some samples, oil in the cartridges was diluted by more than one-third by potentially dangerous and undisclosed additives.
Nearly all the samples were labeled with incorrect THC content, the state found. For example, one cartridge claimed the oil was up to 85% THC, but actually contained 33% THC. Some vape products seized from the unlicensed stores contained as little as 18% THC.
The findings were released just days after the state announced another effort to slow the spread of the illegal pot market, where consumers shop when they want to avoid hefty taxes or can’t locate a legally licensed shop.

The State Has Been Escalating Its War With the Illegal Market

Last Thursday, regulators proposed rules that would require legal shops to post a unique black-and-white code in storefront windows to help consumers identify licensed businesses. Shoppers would use smartphones to scan the familiar, boxy label known as a QR code — similar to a bar code — to determine if businesses are selling legal, tested cannabis products.

California — the world’s largest legal pot market — launched broad, legal sales in January 2018. But the illicit market has continued to thrive.
The codes also would also be required when transporting or delivering cannabis.
California — the world’s largest legal pot market — launched broad, legal sales in January 2018. But the illicit market has continued to thrive, with consumers spending roughly $3 in the state’s underground pot economy for every $1 in the legal one, a report from industry advisers Arcview Market Research and BDS Analytics estimated last year.
Last year, the state mounted a publicity campaign called Get #weedwise to encourage consumers to verify that their purchases are tested and legal. Ads were posted on social media and billboards went up promoting a state website where shoppers can quickly check if a shop is licensed.
The state has been escalating its war with the illegal market under pressure from the legal cannabis industry, which has struggled as consumers go underground looking for bargain prices. But there is a trade-off: illegal products almost certainly are not tested for safety or potency.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Congress Returns, With One Month to Avert Government Shutdown

DON'T MISS

Trump Says His Administration Will Ask Supreme Court for Expedited Ruling on Tariffs

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He’s Committed to Sending National Guard Troops to Chicago

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Teen After Traffic Stop Leads to Foot Chase, Firearm Recovery

DON'T MISS

Trump Dismisses Rumors He Is in Ill Health, Calls Them ‘Fake’

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Allows Trump’s EPA to Nix Climate Grants

DON'T MISS

Rubio Says US Military Conducted Lethal Strike Against Drug Vessel From Venezuela

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Is ‘Very Disappointed’ With Putin Over Ukraine

DON'T MISS

Letter to the Editor: CSU Chancellor’s Silence on Joe Castro’s Passing ‘Is Appalling’

DON'T MISS

Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle US Claim of Allowing Unlawful Collection of Children’s Data

UP NEXT

Classic Cars Will Still Need a Smog Test in California After Lawmakers Reject Jay Leno Bill

UP NEXT

Dollar Trades Lower With Fed Cut In View, On Course For Monthly Drop

UP NEXT

California Schools Reverse Truancy Trends. Improving Reading Scores Could Be Next

UP NEXT

High-Speed Rail Hits a New Snag as Lawmakers Reject Proposal to Expedite Construction

UP NEXT

Lawsuit Links CA Teen’s Suicide To Artificial Intelligence

UP NEXT

Hearing Ends Without Ruling On Trump’s Firing Of Fed Governor Cook

UP NEXT

Gov. Newsom Launches New Task Force To Clear CA Homeless Encampments

UP NEXT

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law Redrawing Congressional Maps

UP NEXT

Fresno vs. Clovis: Which City Is Cheaper to Live in Right Now?

UP NEXT

Kim Harvey Named Executive Producer of ‘CBS Evening News’

Fresno Police Arrest Teen After Traffic Stop Leads to Foot Chase, Firearm Recovery

49 minutes ago

Trump Dismisses Rumors He Is in Ill Health, Calls Them ‘Fake’

53 minutes ago

US Appeals Court Allows Trump’s EPA to Nix Climate Grants

1 hour ago

Rubio Says US Military Conducted Lethal Strike Against Drug Vessel From Venezuela

1 hour ago

Trump Says He Is ‘Very Disappointed’ With Putin Over Ukraine

1 hour ago

Letter to the Editor: CSU Chancellor’s Silence on Joe Castro’s Passing ‘Is Appalling’

2 hours ago

Disney to Pay $10 Million to Settle US Claim of Allowing Unlawful Collection of Children’s Data

2 hours ago

Trump Moves Space Command Headquarters to Alabama From Colorado

2 hours ago

Fresno County Wildfire Burns Near Coalinga, CalFire Reports

2 hours ago

What Could Nikki Henry’s $162,000 Buy for Fresno Unified? Let’s Ask AI

2 hours ago

US Congress Returns, With One Month to Avert Government Shutdown

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Congress returns on Tuesday with less than a month left to perform one of its core functions – keeping federal a...

19 minutes ago

The U.S. Capitol Rotunda on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., as the death toll from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic exceeds 100,000 victims, May 27, 2020. (Reuters File)
19 minutes ago

US Congress Returns, With One Month to Avert Government Shutdown

President Donald Trump leaves, following a cabinet meeting, at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
43 minutes ago

Trump Says His Administration Will Ask Supreme Court for Expedited Ruling on Tariffs

A subway train travels on an elevated track above the Wells Street bridge in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 25, 2025. (Reuters File)
45 minutes ago

Trump Says He’s Committed to Sending National Guard Troops to Chicago

A 17-year-old on probation was arrested in southwest Fresno after fleeing a traffic stop and discarding a loaded firearm, police said on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (Fresno PD)
49 minutes ago

Fresno Police Arrest Teen After Traffic Stop Leads to Foot Chase, Firearm Recovery

President Donald Trump gestures during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
53 minutes ago

Trump Dismisses Rumors He Is in Ill Health, Calls Them ‘Fake’

Signage at the headquarters of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C., U.S., February 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

US Appeals Court Allows Trump’s EPA to Nix Climate Grants

Secretary of State Marco Rubio attends an event at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 16, 2025. (Reuters File)
1 hour ago

Rubio Says US Military Conducted Lethal Strike Against Drug Vessel From Venezuela

President Donald Trump attends an event in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., September 2, 2025. (Reuters/Brian Snyder)
1 hour ago

Trump Says He Is ‘Very Disappointed’ With Putin Over Ukraine

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend