The Cannabis Control Commission has moved to quarantine THC vape products on Tuesday — the day Gov. Charlie Baker’s vape ban on medical marijuana vape products was set to lift.
The Commission plans to quarantine all “devices that rely on vaporization or aerosolization, including, but not limited to, vape pens, vape cartridges, aerosol products and inhalers, in order to protect the public health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Massachusetts,” according to a commission release.
The action does not apply to marijuana flower vapes. Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said last week he had been considering a quarantine of certain THC vape products, including oil-based cartridges, to assess their safety. The commission had taken some beginning steps to address the vaping crisis, voting on Thursday to begin regulating “extracts, concentrates and any marijuana accessories or devices used for the consumption of vaporized marijuana products.”
Those new regulations would only apply to “ingredients, labeling, testing, sourcing, storage of marijuana vape products and manufacturing and consumption processes of marijuana products and marijuana accessories.” Medical authorities have honed in on illicit tetrahydrocannabinol-based oils as a likely culprit in the national outbreak of vaping-related lung illness that has sickened thousands and caused three deaths in Massachusetts.
Last week, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Douglas Wilkins ruled that Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration are blocked from enforcing their ban on medical marijuana vaping products beginning on Nov. 12. The suit was brought by Vapor Technology Association, and a group of medical marijuana patients and advocates intervened.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on Monday announced it will hear arguments in December from the case. Wilkins’ ruling left it up to the Cannabis Control Commission to decide whether to continue enforcing the prohibition. It was meant to help those with medical marijuana cards access cannabis vape products, and does not affect the ban on nicotine-based products.
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