- Illegal cannabis cartridges have hospitalized seven people in California according to doctor
The problem of contaminants and pesticides in illegal cannabis remains a big problem in California. Not only is the illegal market booming, but the problems related to it as well.
US media have been reporting on how contaminants in cannabis cartridges have hospitalized people across the country.
The debate began in California where a lethal toxin in the lungs has been detected and has already hospitalized seven people for pneumonia in Hanford.
Read also
California campaign alerts dangers of contaminants in illegal cannabis
The state department recommend people not to buy this type of vaporizers to business without a license because legal products have high stand laboratory tests that certify that they’re pure.
“If you are going to buy a THC vaporizer make sure you buy it at a legal dispensary where you will know the amount of percentages that it has and that is required to make it safe.” said Dr. Milton Teske, an officer in the Kings County public health department
The real problem is that currently, regulated and legal products are highly taxed. This affects people who cant afford to buy legally. .
“It may cost you twice as much as what you find on the streets, but you don’t want to end up getting a respiratory infection,”
“Anyone from whom a THC cartridge that you bought in the streets has caused you difficulty breathing, a tight chest and breathing problems, it is recommended that you go to the emergency room and say that you have been vaping and also heard about that kind of respiratory diseases”, he said.
This also has to do with the transition moment of the Californian market from illegal to legal.
One of the advantages of the regulated market is that consumers specifically know that they are putting in their body.
However, those who are still working under the black market bring empty cartridges from China which many are combined with THC oil, with other agents such as propylene glycol, vegetable glycerin and other types of chemicals.
Patients who have been hospitalized, according to the reports, say that they’re generally young people around 18-22, some 27 and 34 years old. One of them said he had 60 years old.
Even so, these types of problems are being associated with the components inside the cannabis cartridges rather than with problems related to the use of cannabis in the lungs. Studies in this regard have ensured that cannabis does not cause long-term lung dysfunction.
The dirty cannabis problem
The current regulations of the legal cannabis market in California are very strict with contaminants.
In order to sale products on the dispensary shelves, lab tests are required. This tests that sometimes are even stronger than normal pharmaceuticals on shelves, review at least 12 contaminants, most notably pesticides, solvent residues such as hexane and heavy metals such as arsenic.
This tests are important because they provided safety for a bigger audience.
However, those that are not regulated can have a variety of components that can cause allergies irritations and other toxins can stay inside.
Since 2018, laboratory tests are mandatory in California.
According to reports from the Bureau of Cannabis Control, at least 5169 lots have failed the tests required by the state and cartridges have been most contaminated in the analyzes.
The biggest problem is the high cannabis prices in the legal market that have made the black market grow 3 times more than the regulated market.
During this period, the authorities have found all kinds of contaminants in CBD tintures, cartridges and cannabis flowers.
The Bureau of Cannabis Control has begun an exhaustive campaign in which consumers are warned about the risks of adulterated cannabis from unregulated market.
New information has found pollutants in other places such as in New Jersey, New York, Florida, Indiana, Iowa and Texas among several others.
in Costa Rica. 
