Page 79 - Thc News Today

>> so every pesticide that could have been in that plant material, if it went from, lets just say 20% thc and now youve concentrated to 80% thc and youre concentrating the pesticides the same amount. >> reporter: myron ronay runs belcosta lab, a all about that approves products for consumer use. >> vaping has been around this country more than a decade. what we are seeing is relatively new. when you add that into the equation on top of the testing youve done here, does it start to lead you to so...

This would be really confusing to the end user. >> reporter: when people say black market they think they are buying a legitimate product. and that has started to affect the legal companies which abide by the regulations, like pure vein. >> we found it is possible to purchase our cartridges and our packaging from a number of internet websites. >> reporter: take a look. these are the authentic pure vape products that art kushyan sells and look what is being sold online. they look exactly the same...

Online. they look exactly the same. the problem is, anyone can buy these and fill them with whatever they want. >> personally, i mean, it makes me feel very angry. but most importantly, it creates a possible danger to the public of consuming products that are untested. >> when you concentrate the thc, you concentrate everything along with it. and so every pesticide that could have been in that plant material, if it went from lets say 20% thc and now concentrated to 80% thc, you have also concent...

Does it start to lead you to some sort of conclusion? >> yes, i think that it leads us to really that, there is something going on either in the police it m illicit market and also the average consumer not wanting to pay more, so they look at that i can buy this for $40 or go to a legal store and buy it for 6 o$. and they keep the price down by cuttings product. let me show you what that means. a typical legal thc cartridge would have 70% to 90% pure thc, the rest is the oils that give it flav...

A legal one. within minutes, we were able to purchase these illicit thc cartridges for $30 to $55 a piece. we paid cash and there was no sales tax. and this store is also in california where thc is legal. >> feels like were at the wild west in terms of actually figuring this out. >> it is the wild west. i think that there needs to be more enforcement of the illicit shops and easier way for consumers to identify which shops are operating legally. >> and that is why mark created doja, think of its...

Investigation into the vaping linked lung disease. >> reporter: since the first report of a vaping disease in august all 50 states have been hit by this illness. >> the outbreak of pulmonary injury associated with vaping or e-cigarettes is an emergency. were seeing young people become critically ill and die. >> reporter: the cdc has zeroed in on thc products and i think the larger issue though is the staggering rise in vaping among young people. >> how would you describe the vaping situation in ...

>> reporter: the cdc zeroed in on thc containing products and a more specific culprit. a cutting agent known at vitamin eacetate. the issue, staggering rise in vaping among young people. >> how would you describe the vaping situation in your school? >> it got kind of bad last year. some people did it too much. like -- a lot too much, and it escalated i think. >> reporter: the cdc says more than 6 million middle and high school students used a tobacco product this year. thats up from about 4.9 mi...

With it, so every pesticide that could have been in that plant material, if it went from lets just say 20% thc and now youve concentrated it to 80% thc, youre also concentrating the pesticide the same amount. >> one of californias state certified labs that approves products for consumer use. this year alone he says theyve tested more than 10,000 different products. >> vaping has been around this country for some time, more than a decade. what were seeing is relatively new. when you add that into...

Manufacture date and a batch number. this would be really confusing to the end user. >> but thats whats happening. when people say black market, they think theyre buying a legitimate product. >> reporter: and that has started to affect the legal companies which abide by the regulations like pure vape. >> weve found that it is possible to purchase our cartridges and our packaging from a number of internet websites. >> reporter: take a look, these are the authentic pure vape products that art kush...

Purchase these illicit thc cartridges for $30 to $55 a piece. we paid cash and there was no sales tax. and this store is also in california where thc is legal. >> it feels like were at the wild west in terms of actually figuring this out. >> it is the wild west. there needs to be more enforcement of the illicit shops and easier way for consumers to identify which shops are operating legally. >> thats why mark created doja. think of it as the yelp for cannabis. >> on the app i see people getting ...