Washington state officials this week banned vape products that contain vitamin E acetate, a compound derived from the vitamin that federal health officials recently said is possibly behind some of the more than 2,000 vaping-linked lung illness cases reported across the country.
The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board on Monday announced the ban of the sale and distribution of the products. It takes effect on Wednesday, Nov. 20.
State Liquor and Cannabis Board spokesman Brian Smith told The Seattle Times that officials do not think vitamin E acetate-containing products are being sold in stores in the state, which legalized medical marijuana in 1998 and recreational marijuana in 2012, but noted the ban will stay in effect for 120 days as a precaution.
Cannabis processors in Washington are required to disclose all ingredients used in their products “including but not limited to ingredients, solvents, additives, preservatives, thickening agents, terpenes and other substances used to produce or added to marijuana concentrates for inhalation or marijuana-infused extracts for inhalation at any point during production and processing, regardless of source and origin,” according to the The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board’s announcement. Processors have until Dec. 1 to submit disclosure forms, though Smith said to date no processors have reported using vitamin E acetate in their products.
The ban comes after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently said the chemical compound was found in lung fluid from 29 patients tested in a government lab. [Read More @ Fox News]
