The Oregon Liquor Control Commission identified two potentially harmful vape additives in marijuana products, squalene and squalane, that when inhaled may cause similar health problems to Vitamin E acetate that caused dozens of deaths in 2019.
The cannabis products under investigation contain Viscosity, a non-cannabis diluent manufactured and sold by True Terpenes, between January 2018 and November 2019. The OLCC is looking to find and remove the remaining products on the market containing Viscosity.
True Terpenes stopped using squalene or squalane in its products in November 2019. Oregrown was the first to confirm its use of Viscosity and implemented a voluntary recall on its PAX Era D9 Elite products that, according to the OLCC, 268 recreational marijuana retailers were selling between April 2018 and October 2020. The OLCC found that Oregrown was not aware that Viscosity contained potentially harmful products.
The OLCC is investigating all licensees that purchased Viscosity between January 2018 and November 2019 to confirm if it had been used in any vape products. Licensees that used but did not disclose Viscosity on product labels or withheld information from the OLCC on its use will be subject to compliance actions by the agency.