“It sends a chill down my spine.” Marijuana users in Michigan may be inhaling harmful ingredients

LANSING, MI – Michigan marijuana regulators know some vaping products contain potentially harmful ingredients, but don’t plan to begin testing them until October.

Starting this date, new testing regulations will apply to medium-chain triglyceride (MCT) oil, an ingredient often derived from coconut or palm oil, according to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA).

Studies have shown that inhaling MCT oil can cause respiratory problems such as shortness of breath or pneumonia.

It is used to dilute THC distillate oil, either because it is easier to heat in vaporizers and turn into an inhalable aerosol, or because it is cheaper than THC oil and offers higher profits for manufacturers, says Cassin Coleman, chairman of the National Cannabis Industry Association’s scientific advisory committee and owner of a marijuana consulting firm.

MCT oil is not allowed in vaping products in Michigan, but it is also not tested for, meaning unscrupulous manufacturers can slip it in undetected.

Related: Are marijuana users in Michigan vaping the real stuff or are they the results of a scientific experiment?

Others may inadvertently add MCT in the form of terpenes, which are approved additives derived from cannabis that enhance taste and smell. Sometimes the terpenes and flavors are also diluted with MCT oil, said David Egerton, lab manager at Infinite Chemical Analysis in Jackson.

The CRA has not quantified the extent of the problem, but Infinite Chemical Analysis, a licensed marijuana safety lab, sampled various retail products from Michigan stores earlier this year and found that nearly 10 percent contained MCT oil. The amounts per product varied from less than 1 percent to as much as 20 percent, Egerton said.

The CRA is convinced that the use of MCT oil can largely be eliminated by market regulation.

“We have already seen marijuana retailers voluntarily remove products containing MCT oil from their shelves, and we fully expect this action will lead to the rest of the industry doing the same before the October 1 deadline,” said CRA spokesman David Harns. “Testing facilities and manufacturers will not have to wait until October 1 to conduct these tests – that is when they will be required.”

“We would not be surprised if there are very few, if any, MCT oil outages by the time this rule takes effect on October 1. That would be great news for consumer health and safety of regulated products in Michigan.”

In the past, when marijuana producers or retailers intentionally removed potentially harmful marijuana products from their inventory, the CRA would call it a “voluntary recall” and send a notice to customers so they could identify potentially harmful products. This has not happened in the case of voluntary recalls related to the detection of MCT oil, according to recall bulletins reviewed by MLive.

CRA officials did not respond to MLive’s questions about why the voluntary recalls of MCT oil are being handled this way.

Coleman, whose household stopped using marijuana vaping products because of a lack of transparency and thorough testing for additives, believes the CRA should do more.

She said she was first questioned by CRA staff about her knowledge of MCT oil in April and had heard rumors that the agency was planning to take action.

“I’m glad they’re doing something,” she said. “I’m a little confused why it’s going to take until October and why it’s being presented (to industry insiders) and not necessarily to the general public at this time.”

MCT oil is added to products in a similar way to how nicotine and marijuana vaping product manufacturers have used vitamin E acetate in the past.

The additive was thought to be harmless but later proved to be potentially fatal. It was banned after being linked to nearly 2,800 hospitalizations and 68 deaths in the United States by February 2020, including three deaths in Michigan.

As with vitamin E acetate, which had previously led to a health crisis, no meaningful studies have been conducted on the risks associated with MCT oil.

“It is thought to have some potential to cause lung problems, similar to vitamin E acetate,” Egerton said. “The acute harm potential of these compounds is not quite as high as that of vitamin E acetate, but there is certainly some potential.”

When the vitamin E acetate crisis resulted in many deaths and hospitalization of e-cigarette users, the CRA stopped the sale of all e-cigarette products until they were retested for the presence of vitamin E acetate.

This did not happen with MCT oil.

“If we have any evidence at all that these products are contaminated, we should be able to stop it,” Coleman said. “We should be able to stop the manufacturing and marketing of such products to consumers today.”

Coleman said the companies’ obligation to subject their marijuana products to safety testing is to protect consumers from contaminated, unsafe products.

“If we can’t make sure we’re doing something to protect consumers from harm when we have results that indicate something is wrong, what’s going on?” Coleman asked.

Coleman also believes that companies that sell vaping products have an obligation to their customers.

“We should be doing voluntary recalls across the state,” Coleman said. “Every single e-cigarette manufacturer that doesn’t make their own e-cigarettes from distillate (extract) should be recalled, whether the CRA pushes for it or not.”

“And the fact that that’s not happening makes me shudder. It means there are people out there making decisions about other people’s health to make money, and that’s not OK.”

Vape cartridges accounted for about 20% of all marijuana sales in Michigan last year, generating nearly $585 million in sales. In May alone, over $52 million worth of vape cartridges were sold.

Vaping products are in demand among consumers who are looking for an effective yet smoke-free alternative to burning flower.

Some marijuana industry insiders say it is not feasible to immediately stop selling all vaping cartridges until they can be tested for MCT oil.

Egerton said it would be an “impossible task” to mandate widespread testing of MCT oil “from the outset.”

“These are harmful substances and I really hope that most processors in the industry will take note of this new regulation and, if they are actively using it, will work quickly to eliminate it,” said Egerton.

It appears that some companies are proactively heeding the CRA’s warning.

“Several of our retail members have been proactively auditing and testing their inventory to ensure that the brands they display on their shelves do not contain MCT oil,” said Robin Schneider, executive director of the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, a trade organization and marijuana lobbying group. “Going forward, this testing will take place before retailers purchase inventory from producers. This takes the burden off retailers and ensures that the products they sell are safe.”

Manufacturers of vaping products must submit their formulations to the CRA. They are allowed to use a short list of additives that have been tested and approved by the FDA for inhalation or ingredients derived from the cannabis plant.

In the meantime, there is no foolproof way for customers to ensure that their e-cigarette products do not contain the banned substances.

Coleman and Egerton said lower THC concentrations could be an indication that manufacturers are diluting the distillate with something else.

Many of the companies extract the THC from the plant in the same way, so the potency should be similar, Coleman said. “And if not, then it’s something else, and what else is it?”

However, Egerton said his lab’s study found that the percentage of MCT oil used was often so low that the THC content was indistinguishable from other products.

The CRA hopes to have a new state-run lab up and running by year’s end, which regulators say will help hold producers accountable and better protect the public.

“From a public health and safety perspective, the potential for adverse reactions from MCT oil underscores the importance of safety guidelines for product development,” said Brian Hanna, CRA executive director. “Michigan’s licensed marijuana businesses must make respiratory safety a top priority when formulating or using inhalable products and choose ingredients that have been thoroughly tested for compatibility with lung health.”

“I look forward to our new state reference laboratory becoming operational and improving the health and safety of Michigan cannabis consumers through advanced diluent testing.”

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