Dank, the vape brand scrutinized over legitimacy and license issues

 It’s a widely kwn vaping cartridge in marijuana ecomy, but it’s t a licensed brand. And it’s got kind of market buzz legitimate company would want. vaping cartridges that go by catchy, one-syllable name “Dank” — a slang word for highly potent cannabis — are figuring prominently in federal investigation to determine what has caused a rash of mysterious and sometimes fatal lung illnesses apparently linked to vaping. Most of cases have involved products that contain marijuana compound THC, often obtained from illegal sources.

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What is Dank vape product?

suspect Dank vapes are a familiar product in underground marijuana ecomy — it’s t a legal, tested brand. It’s merely a name on a box or a cartridge, packaging that’s easily obtained online and used by illicit producers to lure customers. But with colourful boxes and names like Cherry Kush and Blue Dream, homeme vapes appear convincing on shelf.

“It doesn’t look very different from what you can buy in a (legal) dispensary,” said Beverly Hills-based cannabis attorney Allison Margolin. So far, investigators have t identified a culprit in illnesses reported in dozens of states. But officials say patients have mentioned Dank name frequently. Many of people who got sick in Illiis and Wisconsin, for example, said y used cartridges sold in Dank packaging.

raw materials to produce a Dank vape aren’t hard to find: Rey-to-fill Dank boxes and cartridges can be ordered from Chinese internet sites for pennies apiece. A Craigslist post last week offered a box stuffed with empty Dank packs for $16. And you can buy boxes and empty cartridges in shops in downtown Los Angeles.

A rogue producer ds cannabis oil — almost certainly untested — and it’s rey for sale. “It’s a generic product name that doesn’t really tie back to one store or one distributor,” Dr. Jennifer Layden, chief medical officer for Illiis Department of Public Health, said last month. “Folks are getting it from friends or folks on street, with understanding of where it came from prior to that.”

chief selling point for pot vapes in Dank packaging: It’s a quick high on cheap, available for as little as $20 a gram on illicit market, roughly one-third of what a customer would pay for a cartridge in a legal marijuana shop in California But y come with a risk: Products in legal marijuana market are tested for safety and purity, while those in illicit market are t and could contain pesticides, heavy metals or or dangerous contaminants.

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Dank vape legitimate company

According to California records, licensed company is manufacturing a cannabis vape carrying Dank name m in state. “It was never a legitimate company,” said Los Angeles dispensary owner Donnie Anderson. “It was always an underground brand.”Given showy pedigree of Dank vapes, it’s t surprising that details about its history are scarce. In California, Dank name appears to have emerged during largely unregulated medical cannabis era, prior to bro legalization that began in 2018.

Dispensary owner Jerred Kiloh, who hes Los Angeles-based United Cannabis Business Association, recalls seeing Dank vapes for first time about seven years ago. Kiloh remembers being visited by vendors selling m at his shop, though that stopped long ago. What remains is name, which has mand to retain a surprising cachet in underground industry. Last month, Wisconsin authorities uncovered an illegal vaping-cartridge operation that y said was producing thousands of cartridges loed with THC oil every day for almost two years. Photographs released by Kesha County Sheriff’s Department showed neatly stacked Dank boxes and cartridges, apparently rey for shipment.

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Crackdown and Illness associated

Also last month, Minnesota authorities seized nearly 77,000 THC vaping cartridges, some of which were packd in Dank boxes. In vember 2018, authorities in Lorain County, Ohio, intercepted four packs mailed from California holding individually wrapped and sealed packs of Dank cartridges. y believed numerous similar packs were sent to area previously.

“Dank Vapes appears to be most prominent in a class of largely counterfeit brands, with common packaging that is easily available online and that is used by distributors to market THC-containing cartridges with obvious centralized production or distribution,” said a report by Illiis and Wisconsin officials, and from federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Doctors say illnesses resemble an inhalation injury. Symptoms have included shortness of breath, fatigue, chest pain, diarrhoea and vomiting. Ron Gershoni, co-founder of vape producer Jetty Extracts who sits on board of California Cannabis Manufacturers Association, said strictly regulated legal industry has been working to distinguish itself from underground market that continues to thrive in California. His company doesn’t view Dank vapes as a competitor, but he understands how name has survived in illegal market. y “essentially sell empty packaging, and anyone can fill it,” he said. “It’s a business model that me sense. Anybody who wanted to make a buck.”

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