MO hikes allowable amount of vitamin E acetate, culprit in marijuana vape crisis

Missouri regulators have raised the allowable limit for vitamin E acetate in regulated marijuana products from 0.2 parts per million to 5 parts per million, sparking concern from stakeholders including the state’s chapter of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML).

Previous regulations required vitamin E acetate testing for cannabis concentrates and inhalables, but the updated rule applies to concentrates, infused plant material, pre-rolls and vapes.

25 times more vitamin E acetate allowed

According to Kansas City TV station KCTV, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ rules for licensed marijuana operators took effect March 1 and allow 25 times more vitamin E acetate in finished marijuana products, including vapes.

Missouri NORML Coordinator Dan Viets told KCTV that “there appears to be no rational explanation for why the state of Missouri would dramatically increase the amount of a very toxic substance in legal cannabis products when none of it whatsoever should be present in them.”

The health agency wrote in a letter to state marijuana business license holders that the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation “determined the good cause for granting this variance is that it provides accurate standardization of the method reference material for testing licensees, reduces the risks for false failures, and to ensure Vitamin E Acetate is not added to marijuana product.”

Cause of 2019-20 vape crisis

Cannabis operators might remember vitamin E acetate as having caused the vaping crisis of 2019-20, when nearly 70 people died and more than 2,500 vape consumers were hospitalized for a mystery lung illness eventually tied to the chemical, which some product manufacturers used as a thickening agent for vape oil.

After medical professionals sounded the alarm in 2019 about patients becoming gravely ill from vaping, it took months before scientists were able to identify the culprit.

Labs running tests on sample vape products did not know what they were looking for, and many of the offending products were sold through the illicit market.

Yet, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16% of patients who reported THC use and were hospitalized for so-called e-cigarette or vaping product use-associated lung injury (EVALI) before January 2020 said they purchased marijuana through medical cannabis dispensaries or adult-use marijuana stores.