Marijuana advocates are seizing on the recent outbreak of vaping illnesses to renew calls for clear federal rules on cannabis. 

Federal health officials have pointed to black market THC products as a likely culprit of a mysterious vaping illness that has sickened more than 2,000 people across the country and caused at least 39 deaths.

Advocates argue federal marijuana regulation, including changing rules to allow more and better research, will make people safer.

“The black market can only be addressed by a viable legal market that’s regulated and can promise safety and security for consumers,” said Terry Holt, spokesman for the National Cannabis Roundtable. 

According to the latest update from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), products containing THC, particularly from “informal sources” such as friends, family or in-person or online dealers, are linked to most of the cases and play a major role in the outbreak.

On Friday, CDC officials homed in on an e-cigarette cutting agent called vitamin E acetate. According to experts, vitamin E has been used in unregulated, illegal vaping products to dilute THC oil in order to maximize profits.

The CDC said vitamin E acetate was a “very strong culprit” for potentially causing the vaping-related injuries, but officials emphasized there could be other causes as well.

Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, said while most of the illnesses have been linked to illicit THC vapes, the agency can’t rule out any “infiltration” of tainted products into state-licensed marijuana dispensaries. [Read More @ The Hill]