Missouri cannabis group seeks vape rules

The Missouri Medical Cannabis Trade Association wants the state’s health officials to issue strict vaping regulations.

The association, in a letter to the Department of Health and Senior Services, asked for rules on vaping additives, testing and labeling before legal medical marijuana sales begin in Missouri in 2020, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

Nationwide, roughly 1,600 lung-related illnesses and about three dozen deaths have been linked to vaping, according to federal health officials.

Many of those who became sick used black-market products containing THC, the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, on Oct. 15 directed his health, education and public safety departments to develop a public health awareness campaign to discourage vaping.

The campaign, called “Clear the Air” is to be developed within 30 days.

Competition among prospective cannabis businesses – especially dispensaries that want to enter the Missouri MMJ market – has been fierce.

For more of Marijuana Business Daily’s ongoing coverage of the vaping crisis, click here.

– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily