By Heidi de Marco
October
18, 2019
A
five-block section of downtown Los Angeles that used to be part of the city’s
Toy District has become ground zero for the nation’s counterfeit cannabis
trade. While a few remaining stores sell fidget spinners and stuffed animals,
the majority are hawking vape cartridges, e-juice flavors, vaporizers and other
wholesale smoking and vaping supplies — including knockoffs that originated in
China.
The
vaping industry is under scrutiny as more people fall ill with a mysterious
respiratory illness linked to e-cigarette use. Health officials are investigating nearly
1,500 cases in 49 states and the District of Columbia, including 33 deaths. In
California, more than 135 residents have fallen ill, at
least three of whom died, according to the California Department of Public
Health.
Although
it’s unclear what exactly is causing the illness, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention officials said most of the patients used products containing
THC, the main psychoactive component in marijuana — particularly from products
obtained off the street, from friends or family, or from illicit dealers.
In Los
Angeles, some shop owners blame the vaping illnesses on untested products and
devices sold to consumers on the black market — even though some are themselves
part of that distribution chain.
Shipments
of vaping supplies arrive in the alleyways behind dozens of wholesale shops.
The seedy district is bounded by Skid Row on one side and Little Tokyo’s
skyscrapers on the other. It is considered a black-market gateway to the United
States, allowing the production and sale of fake products to flourish.(Heidi de
Marco/California Healthline)
The
warehouses here sell only to wholesale buyers, most of them retail vape shop
owners who descend from around the state with shopping lists literally in hand
to buy trending vape flavors, cartridges and box mods in bulk. Some shop
owners, who consider themselves legitimate, say bootleggers are buying ripoff
vape packaging and cartridges mimicking popular brands and filling them with
potentially dangerous counterfeit products. (Heidi de Marco/California
Healthline)
Vape
flavors on display at a wholesale shop on Fourth Street tantalize buyers with
names like “Sugared Nectarine” and “The Abyss.” There are thousands of e-liquid flavors,
which are typically made by mixing nicotine and flavorings with a solvent,
often propylene glycol. A study in
the journal Nicotine & Tobacco Research suggests that
mixtures of certain ingredients and flavorings can create entirely new and
potentially dangerous chemicals. The Mayo Clinic reported in early
October that the vaping-related illnesses are most likely caused by
noxious chemical fumes, and that the lung damage resembles a chemical
burn. (Heidi de Marco/California Healthline)
Vape
shop employees unload a shipment. The Food and Drug
Administration advises consumers
to avoid black-market cannabis products, which could contain pesticides,
heavy metals or other dangerous contaminants. In California, legal products are
tested and monitored by the state’s “track-and-trace” system, and consumers can
look for package tags to
confirm the authenticity of a product. (Heidi de Marco/California
Healthline)
Boxes
of vape products, origin unknown, arrive at a vape shop in downtown Los
Angeles. Sellers of counterfeit goods are spooked by the increased attention —
and the hit to their businesses. The Food and Drug Administration has
launched a criminal investigation into
the illnesses with the Drug Enforcement Administration, a probe that isn’t
focused on individual vapers, but on the manufacture and distribution of
illicit products that sicken people. “You can buy counterfeit juice and
cartridges here, but I haven’t seen some of the people that sell them. They got
scared of the news,” said an employee who didn’t want his name used. (Heidi de
Marco/California Healthline)
A
conveyor belt moves boxes at a vape warehouse. The California Department of
Public Health is urging everyone to quit vaping, “no matter the substance or
source,” while the investigations into the illnesses proceed. The CDC also
advised people to “consider refraining” from
using e-cigarette products, especially those that contain THC. (Heidi de
Marco/California Healthline)
Heidi
de Marco: heidid@kff.org, @Heidi_deMarco
No comments:
Post a Comment