Potency of Wisconsin THC cartridges may be higher than claim

By IVAN MORENO
September 11, 2019

MILWAUKEE (AP) — A Wisconsin operation that manufactured thousands of vaping cartridges a day may have been packing them with far more THC oil than the packaging claimed, authorities said Wednesday.

The revelation Wednesday from the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office underscores warnings that people who buy vaping products on the street don’t know what they’re getting. Officials are investigating 450 possible cases in 33 states where vaping was linked to a severe lung disease. The outbreak has killed as many as six people nationwide.

Authorities haven’t established a link between the Wisconsin operation and any illnesses, but Sheriff David Beth said his office is working with agencies in states where people have gotten sick or died “to see if our people here in Kenosha County have any responsibility in hurting the hundreds of people throughout the United States, especially in Wisconsin.”

People with the illness tied to vaping experienced symptoms including a cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, fatigue and vomiting.

Beth said the Wisconsin operation was filling cartridges with syringes from jars labeled as containing THC oil, injecting 1,000 milligrams — or 1 gram — into cartridges labeled as containing just 5 milligrams of THC oil. Wisconsin authorities are currently testing the contents of the 57 mason jars labeled as THC oil, which came from California, where recreational marijuana is legal. Investigators said they’re trying to determine who made it and how it got to Wisconsin, which hasn’t legalized marijuana.

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