Vaping of High-Potency THC Products Carries Significant Physical, Mental Health Risks for Users
In response to a growing national crisis over the tragic deaths and hospitalizations of hundreds of people from lung infections associated with e-cigarette products, Smart Approaches to Marijuana (SAM) President Dr. Kevin Sabet, a former senior drug policy advisor to President Obama, is calling on the Trump Administration, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to enact an immediate, national moratorium on the sale of all THC vape products.
“We are calling on the Trump Administration and the new HHS advisory committee to recognize that THC vaping poses a significant threat to public health and include these dangerous products in their forthcoming recommendations. The sale of THC vaping oils and other products must be halted before more Americans are put at risk,” stated Dr. Kevin Sabet.
The U.S. Surgeon General has already issued a public health advisory that acknowledged the serious physical and mental health consequences associated with today’s commercially produced marijuana products, which include vapes, dabs and waxes. Multiple reports have indicated that the ongoing public health crisis is likely linked to vaped THC products. Even the American Vaping Association’s President Gregory Conley, issued a statement warning Americans, to stop vaping THC oils to avoid hospitalization or death from the products.
“The marijuana vaping crisis is real and poses a significant threat to both physical and mental health. For years, companies like Altria and other major tobacco and e-cigarette brands have demonstrated a willingness to lie to the public about the safety of these products, aggressively marketing these devices as safe, healthy alternatives to traditional smoking,” stated Dr. Sabet.
“If this crisis does not convince lawmakers at a state and federal level that today’s high-potency, industrialized marijuana is dangerous, I don’t know what will. Pot profiteers, both newly legal and on the black market are flooding our communities with new, dangerous drugs and ways to use them. It must stop now before more lives are lost,” he concluded.
Earlier this year, the Secretary of State in Oregon, issued a shocking report about that state’s failure to ensure the safety of marijuana being sold in that state. The report acknowledged that pot products being sold through even ‘legal’ marketplaces included mold, pesticides and other harmful chemicals.
The Surgeon General’s recent public health advisory clearly stated that there are significant physical and mental health risks associated with using marijuana including lower IQ, psychosis, depression and risk of suicide. Those risks, along with the growing body of evidence about e-cigarette’s dangers, must result in strong action by our nation’s leading health and safety agencies to put a stop to the sale of these dangerous products.
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