CDC Official: Cannabis Regulations Could Help In Vaping Crisis

Anne Schuchat, the Principal Deputy Director for Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), suggested during a Friday CSPAN appearance that regulations for cannabis vaporizer products, including lab test and labeling requirements, would help to protect consumers from the ongoing and vape-linked pulmonary illness crisis.

First reported by Marijuana Moment, Schuchat’s statements were prompted by questions from people calling in to the program.

“I do think that labeling and information can help people know what they’re getting and then the systems that are there to enforce that the product is what it says it is can also help the consumer.” — Anne Schuchat, Principal Deputy Director of the CDC

Schuchat, however, stopped short of endorsing a federal legalization policy.

“The THC right now — pretty much the marijuana market, cannabis products — are at this point regulated at the state level, and many of those state regulations will talk about what needs to be done in terms of the testing and the quality control,” she said.

The ongoing vape crisis, which as of Thursday had affected 1,888 victims with 37 recorded deaths, appears to have mostly affected people who reported using unregulated THC vaporizer cartridges, not the lab-tested products that are available via state-legal markets. The crisis has sparked multiple statewide bans on flavored vaporizers (for both nicotine and THC) including a four-month ban in Massachusetts, a four-month ban in Washington, and a six-month ban in Oregon.