Vape Ban Cartridges Gone for Good

In the fall of 2019, the Governor of Massachusetts banned the sale of vape cartridges pending investigation of reported lung illnesses likely due to vitamin E acetate found in both illicit vape products and nicotine vape products. As a result, the Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) prohibited dispensaries from selling cannabis-infused vape cartridges during this time. Although the ban was lifted after a few months, it wasn’t until August 2020 that the CCC allowed retesting of the quarantined vapes for possible resale - a full year or more after those vape cartridges were produced.

Our team at Temescal unanimously agreed that our quarantined products were not suitable for our patients and guests. We have always followed safety and sanitation standards throughout the growing, manufacturing, and selling of our cannabis products, and these vape cartridges were not representative of our brand after sitting in storage for an extended period of time.

Although faced with a difficult decision because of our investment (yes, you read right - $2.6 million), our team decided to forego sales, which meant we had to dispose of our supply of quarantined vape cartridges; cue the destruction process! Our team agreed that it is more important to provide fresh cannabis products to ensure we maintain the quality of products our customers expect to receive from us.

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To give you an idea of our production team’s undertaking, about 2,000 cartridges were destroyed per hour.