Black Market Companies Like "Dank Vapes" Linked To Vaping-related Illness

As several states in America begin to crack down on tobacco vape pens and flavors, the CDC has announced that a large swath of recent vaping-related illnesses are linked to usage of black market THC vape pens.

On September 27th, the CDC published a report identifying that use of THC vape pens, "the majority of which were prefilled cartridges obtained from informal sources," was reported by a majority of patients hospitalized with vaping-related illnesses in Illinois and Wisconsin. The report stated that the patients had used black market THC vape products from companies like "Dank Vapes" and "TKO."

While it remains unclear what specific chemical is causing the sicknesses, on Wednesday, F.D.A. commissioner Ned Sharpless identified that after testing 150 vape cartridges used by the victims, many THC vapes were contaminated with Vitamin E acetate, which Sharpless said has "no business" being in a product that people inhale.

Meanwhile, in California, NBC News reported the CannaSafe testing company found that while vape products from legal dispensaries in California had no Vitamin E, heavy metals, and pesticides, 13 out of 15 black market THC products contained Vitamin E and 10 out of 10 unregulated cartridges tested for pesticides came back positive for myclobutanil, a fungicide that can transform into hydrogen cyanide when burned.

After the C.D.C. report was released, Mashable investigated the "Dank Vapes" Instagram account, finding that it did not directly sell the products they posted, but third party sellers linked to places where people could buy them in the comments. A website linked to Dank Vapes, Dankwoods.org appeared to acknowledge the health risk of the product in bizarre language. Mashable reported the website contained an oddly-worded safety warning, saying "Dank Vapes is not safe for health. People who are taking this already cannot understand those words. They take this to consummate the bodily desires or the habits, which they previously developed.Buy Dank Vapes Online." The warning no longer appears to be on the website.