CMMNJ

Safety of New Jersey ATC Vape Carts

Because of the recent issues regarding vaping, especially the use of thinners or other additives, there has been some concern raised about the short- and long-term safety of the NJ dispensary vape carts. I talked to some of the player's in New Jersey's medical marijuana program about this and here's what I got:

1. I talked to Annie at Breakwater. She said their cartridges are made of ethanol extracted ( with the ethanol removed) cannabis oil plus their house-derived terpenes and nothing else.
2. Bridgette, dispensary manager at Curaleaf, NJ said that their strain-specific vape carts use their CO2 cannabis oil plus natural terpenes. The only exception to this formulation is Curaleaf's 1:1 vape pens (equal amounts of THC and CBD) which have a small amount of MCT oil in them and use approved flavoring agents.
3. I communicated with the New Jersey Medical Marijuana Program assistant commissioner, Jeff Brown. He confirmed these are all the ingredients used in the vape carts and said all formulations must be reviewed and approved by the Dept. of Health and that they are subject to routine inspections.
4. The physical carts at Curaleaf are Jupiter CCELL carts. I believe, but need to verify, that these are also used by Breakwater. The CCELLs use a porous ceramic core to wick in the oil to the embedded heater. It is designed to work with thick oils which is why, I think, the NJ vape pens don't need the cutting agents/thinners that are concerning in black market vape carts. I am not an expert in this area but from what I have (briefly) read, this is the safest of all the vape cart technologies.
5. In most other states, vape carts are made by third-party companies without state oversight. Even if you buy them in a state dispensary they have not been regulated. New Jersey is, I think, the first state to impose strict regulations of the process and ingredients used to make vape carts. I can't say if they are absolutely safe, but they are probably as safe as you are going to find with our current knowledge. They are going to be far safer than you can find elsewhere.

That's all I've got

Peter Rosenfeld, CMMNJ