The CDC has finally admitted that black market THC vape carts are a major culprit in the respiratory disease outbreak that has affected 805 people and resulted in 13 deaths.
Instead of continuing to emphasize that “no single product” is linked to all the cases, the CDC clearly stated yesterday that “THC is the most prominent link across patients” and the agency changed its warning to specifically mention THC: “While this investigation is ongoing, CDC recommends that persons consider refraining from using e-cigarette, or vaping, products, particularly those containing THC.”
Because of the CDC’s long overdue acknowledgment of the primary role of illicit THC vape carts, newspaper headlines are finally telling the story like it should be told. For example, the headline of an article in the Regina Leader-Post reads: “CDC recommends against using vapes with THC due to lung illnesses.” An article by NASDAQ is entitled: “U.S. CDC recommends against using vapes with marijuana ingredient.” And the headline of a New York Times article reads: “Dank Vapes, TKO and Other THC Vaping Brands Are Linked to Illnesses, C.D.C. Says.”
These are the kinds of clear, specific messages that we should have seen in newspapers two months ago.
In an emergency MMWR publication, the CDC reported that of cases in which there was information on the products used, 84% of patients admitted to vaping THC. But in contrast to previous publications, instead of immediately undermining this important finding by emphasizing that “no single product” can be linked to all the cases, the CDC instead emphasized that there are multiple reasons why many patients might not report using THC even if they did: “patients might not always know what substances they use or might be hesitant to reveal use of substances that are not legal in their state.”
Dr. Michael Siegel – The Rest of the Story – September 29, 2019.
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