How To Solve The Vaping Crisis In Five Easy Steps

First of all, the "vaping crisis" is actually two different problems that just happen to share the same delivery system.  The first is the explosion of nicotine vaping (particularly the JUUL brand, with very high nicotine levels) among teens from late 2017 onwards.  The second is the "mystery" vaping lung illness, now known as EVALI, that has finally been linked to the cause that we suspected for months now:  Mostly black-market and gray-market THC (and probably CBD) vape cartridges containing the additive Vitamin E Acetate, which is apparently VERY bad for the lungs.  Instead of conflating the two, we must realize that they are two different issues with different solutions, while also noting that pushing them into the black market will only pour gasoline on the fire.

Thus, Twenty-One Debunked recommends the following:

1. Legalize cannabis, vaping and otherwise, for everyone 18 and older, period. 
2. For cannabis vape products, ban Vitamin E Acetate and all other additives that are not on a narrow list of approved additives.  Implement strict quality control to test for questionable substances and issue product recalls as needed.  (Also require quality control of nicotine vape products while we're at it.)
3. Cap the nicotine content of nicotine vape products at similar levels as found in the UK, Europe, and Israel, and also subject such products to the same advertising restrictions as combustible cigarettes.
4. Tax nicotine vape products, but keep the tax lower than the tax on combustible cigarettes (or alternatively, raise the cigarette tax even higher).
5. Strictly enforce existing purchase age limits on vendors via compliance checks, but avoid knee-jerk reactionary policy measures such as broad flavor bans or raising the smoking/vaping age to 21, which will drive vapers to the black market.

Do these things and tone down the moral panic, and both of these problems will soon wither on the vine.  But that would make too much sense, of course.

What If We Can't Lower The Drinking Age Anytime Soon? (Re-Post)

Perish the thought, but it looks like the utterly vile and ageist abomination that is the 21 drinking age will not be lowered to 18 (or even lowered at all) anytime soon.  It's plain to see that the movement to lower it has completely run out of momentum by now, and the movement to raise the smoking/vaping age to 21 has unfortunately only gained momentum in recent years, and with no signs of stopping.  In fact, the federal government recently raised the federal tobacco/vaping purchase age to 21.  And while the cannabis legalization movement still has enough momentum, unfortunately all US states (though not Canada) that have chosen to legalize it so far have chosen 21 as their legal toking age.

Does that mean our movement is dead, never to rise again?  Of course not, but our movement is in a sort of "dark night of the soul", apparently, and a very long one too.  Depressing as it sounds, we must realize that it is always darkest before the dawn, and we must redouble our efforts to tackle the 21 drinking age while the country is hopelessly distracted by tobacco and especially vaping these days.

One bright spot among recent trends is the increasing tendency towards criminal justice reform.  We may be able to use that to our advantage, in fact.  If we can't lower the drinking age right away, we can at least reduce the harm by decriminalizing underage drinking (and smoking and toking), reducing it to a mere infraction (ticket) offense (if there are to even be any penalties at all) without any arrests, criminal penalties, or criminal record, bypassing the criminal justice system entirely.  Some states, such as New York and DC, already have that in place for alcohol, while many other states are still quite draconian by comparison.  We should also seize upon the trend towards reducing or eliminating driver's license sanctions for non-driving related offenses, and apply that to underage drinking (and smoking and toking) as well.  We should re-prioritize law enforcement resources towards retail sellers rather than young buyers and users, and make "underage" drinking (and smoking and toking) by 18-20 year olds the lowest law enforcement priority.  And of course, in our zeal to lower the drinking age to 18, we must not throw people under 18 under the bus in the name of cowardly political expendiency in that regard either.

And of course, we need to prioritize cracking down on drunk driving, drunk violence, drunk vandalism, rape and sexual assault, and other serious stuff like that at ANY age, not the mere victimless "crime" of responsible drinking by 18-20 year old young adults.

So what are we waiting for?

Sketchy Vape Vendors, Stop Spamming And Advertising On This Site!

To anyone who has been spamming and advertising questionable things in the comments section of our blog posts, we at Twenty-One Debunked are asking you to stop doing so.  Yesterday.  Just because of the subject matter of our blog posts or the fact that they contain certain key words, it does NOT mean that you should take that as an invitation to hawk your sketchy wares here.  Needless to say, I have deleted all of your posts.  Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

This applies particularly to people persistently trying to advertise black-market cannabis vaping products (which of course are most likely adulterated with questionable and harmful additives) in the comments section of our posts.  That is practically the definition of chutzpah, given the fact that the "mystery" vaping illness (EVALI) has in fact been traced to adulterants such products.  Twenty-One Debunked does NOT endorse or support the sale, use, or promotion of ANY illicit or black-market products, period.  So cease and desist NOW.  You have been warned.

And for any readers who seek to buy such black-market vape products, please keep in mind that you are essentially playing Russian Roulette when you buy such sketchy stuff, since there is ZERO quality control and a massive profit motive to adulterate their products to inflate their profit margins.  Nearly 60 people have been KILLED by such products, and over 2600 have been seriously injured and sickened.

So buyer beware!

The Cannabis Black Market Has A Kill Switch, And We Know What It Is

We keep hearing over and over again that the black market for cannabis comtinues to persists despite legalization for several years in several states.  And we also are learning that this black market is selling notoriously tainted counterfeit THC vape products which are the primary cause of the "mystery" vaping lung illness now known as EVALI.  National legalization should really be a no-brainer at this point.

But why does the black market persist so tenaciously even in states like Colorado and Washington that have had legal recreational sales for over five years now?  The answer is overtaxation and overregulation, particularly in terms of retail licensing fees and quotas.  And the kill switch for the black market is thus really quite simple:

So what to do?  Cut the taxes on cannabis, yesterday, for at least a year or two before raising them again.  Consider a complete tax holiday for a few months, like Oregon did when legalization began there.  Ease up a bit on licensing regulations (and fees) for both producers and retailers.  Allow at least all liquor stores to sell weed alongside their booze, and further consider allowing any store that sells cigarettes to also sell weed as well, including grocery and convenience stores.  Lower the age limit to 18, yesterday.  Encourage current black market dealers to "go legit", by giving amnesty to unlicensed sellers and allowing them to obtain retail licenses.  And once these things are done, then crack down hard on what remains of the black market, particularly the illegal commercial growers and higher-ups in the illegal businesses and organized crime syndicates.

Problem solved.

And of course, fully legalize cannabis at the federal level as well.  Period.

Of course, once the black market is dead and gone, then by all means, tax away.  But now is NOT the time for overtaxation or overregulation.

So what should the tax on cannabis be?  To start with, we at Twenty-One Debunked believe it should be no higher that $10/ounce for bud and $2.50/ounce for trim at the production/cultivation level, with no other taxes aside from regular sales tax.  Consider a three-month tax holiday as well, like Oregon did in 2015.  Then, after the first year or two, the tax should be no higher than $50/ounce for bud and $15/ounce for trim, much like it is in Alaska today.  As for concentrates and edibles, those are best to tax based on THC content, e.g. 1 cent/milligram of THC.

Indeed, recent studies in both the USA and Canada do bear this out.  Allowing a legal alternative to the black market will out-compete with the latter, but only if the price of legal cannabis flower remains below about $14/gram.  Above that threshold, adult customers will readily switch back to the black market if it is the cheaper option, at least in the first few years post-legalization.

As for the price elasticity of demand for cannabis, that has been a controversial topic, but recent studies find that it is relatively inelastic at low prices, but becomes quite elastic at high enough prices, implying an "elastic zone" above some threshold (in one study, $15/joint, or about $30/gram based on the study's half-gram definition of a joint) for high-quality weed.

Interestingly, some other studies find cross-elasticity between alcohol, tobacco and cannabis among young people, such that raising the cigarette tax and even the beer tax can lead to reduced cannabis consumption.  Thus, any fears that falling cannabis prices will lead to more teen use can be addressed by simply raising the taxes on the other two substances in the meantime, before the cannabis black market is eradicated.  (Which will also decrease the use of alcohol and tobacco as well, by the way.)

Remember, there is really no good reason why cannabis needs to be regulated any more stringently than alcohol or tobacco.  After all, while it is not completely harmless for everyone, the fact remains that by just about any objective, rational, scientific measure, cannabis is safer than alcohol, tobacco, most prescription drugs, aspirin, and even Tylenol, while it is less addictive than coffee.  Thus our laws and regulations need to align accurately with reality, since facts > feelings, even in a "post-truth" society.

One Weird Trick Reduces Binge Drinking on College Campuses By Nearly 10%

Clickbait-y title aside, a recent study confirms what we at Twenty-One Debunked have always known.  When examining substance use trends among college students from 2008-2018, it was observed that recreational cannabis legalization was associated with nearly 10% LESS "binge" drinking by students over the age of 21.  That is of course not surprising, given that alcohol and cannabis tend to be substitutes, and the legal age limit for both substances is 21 in all such legalization states so far.  No such effect was observed for students under 21, and no other effects were observed on trends for any other substance use (including nicotine use, illicit drug use, and prescription stimulant, sedative, or opioid misuse) among students under or over 21, except for a modest increase in the (mis)use of sedatives among students under 21 (but not over 21) for whatever reason. (So much for the long-debunked "gateway" theory).

We at Twenty-One Debunked believe that if the age limit was lowered to 18 for both alcohol and cannabis, the benefits of the aforementioned reduction in "binge" drinking would extend to students under 21 as well.   In any case, cannabis legalization looks like a net public health win on balance.

So what are we waiting for?

The Federal Smoking And Vaping Age Is Now 21 (Part Deux)

As we had noted a little over a week ago, Congress raised the federal age limit for the sale of tobacco and vape products from 18 to 21 as part of a must-pass budget bill to avoid yet another government shutdown, and on December 20, 2019, Trump signed it into law, and even had the GALL to brag-tweet about it.  And while Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch "Awkward Turtle" McConnell, a big supporter of the age limit hike, was no doubt very pleased with himself for his "victory", we need to remember that both parties overwhelmingly supported it.  Tyranny is apparently as bipartisan as it is whimisical--and very cowardly as well.  And of course, Big Tobacco and Big Vape overwhelmingly supported it like the cowardly quislings that they are.

If that wasn't bad enough, it looks like the FDA isn't wasting any time in implementing the raising of the tobacco and vape product sale age to 21.  As of December 27, 2019, they officially noted on their website that it is now illegal to sell tobacco or vape products to anyone under 21.  They could have waited up to 180 days to formulate new regulations plus an additional 90 days before enforcing them, according to the new law, but apparently even that very small mercy is somehow beneath them.  And of course there is no grandfather clause either in this disgusting new law, nor will there be in the FDA regulations.  In other words, 18-20 year old young adults in a whopping 31 non-21 states (and several territories) who were legal to buy cigarettes and vapes just a week ago are suddenly banned from buying them now.  Talk about adding insult to injury!

And of course the new federal 21 law also applies just as much to our men and women in uniform, despite a few Tobacco 21 states having the small mercy to carve out an exception for them.  The new federal law has NO such exceptions, and is really a slap in the face of so many of our troops.  You know, kinda like the 21 drinking age has been for over three decades now.

The only silver lining to this ageist abomination is that it may very well anger enough Americans to challenge it in court, and if successful, we may get the two-for-one special of getting that other ageist abomination, the 21 drinking age, struck down as well.  And possibly even for cannabis too, though federally there is no such age limit (yet).  Otherwise, there is really no upside to this new law.  All it will do is effectively create an even more massive black market and greater disrespect for the rule of law.

In fact, it may very well drive many teen and young adult nicotine vapers back to smoking, since even with strict enforcement, regular cigarettes will be at least somewhat easier to get than vape products due to the difference in the size of the markets, general accessibility, and the design of the products.  Talk about a lose-lose proposition for public health!

As a wise man once said, "America will never be destroyed from the outside.  Rather, if we lose our freedoms, it is because we have destroyed ourselves from within."  That wise man, Abraham Lincoln, did not use those exact words it turns out, but his words came very close nonetheless.  And that (mis)quote turned out to be very prescient indeed, as America really seems to be rotting and rusting from within.

The song "21 Guns" by Green Day comes to mind, as does the song immediately following it on the same album, "American Eulogy".  And of course there's also Five Finger Death Punch, with "Stranger than Fiction":

"It's stranger than fiction, how [we've] decayed..."

The Vaping Lung Illness Mystery Has Been Solved

Looks like the "mystery" vaping lung illness (now called EVALI) has been largely solved.  And the primary culprit is indeed the same one that Twenty-One Debunked and many others had long suspected several months ago:  Vitamin E Acetate, a common additive found almost exclusively in black-market and counterfeit THC (and probably some gray-market CBD) vape cartridges.  Though harmless when ingested orally or applied topically, when inhaled it is apparently a different story:  this "thick and greasy" oil, and perhaps also its byproducts upon heating it to high temperatures, can indeed cause serious lung damage, and quickly.  It certainly does NOT belong in the lungs at all!  And both samples of vape cartridges as well as (more recently) samples of lung fluids taken from EVALI patients now confirm such suspicions, as noted recently by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).  But we could have told you that a while ago.

The illness was apparently quite rare before June 2019, when the epidemic apparently exploded, peaked in September, and sharply declined thereafter.  In other words, this was not a trend, this was an event.  Something had clearly changed about vaping between 2018 and the first half of 2019.

Prior to 2019, Vitamin E Acetate was not widely used in THC vape products, whether legal or illegal, and according to cannabis industry insiders it first emerged as a cutting agent for products made in late 2018 at the earliest.  It may very well have been used before that, but if it was it was too rare to be of any concern or on anyone's radar.  But then, the black-market and counterfeit THC vape product purveyors discovered that this cheap additive can be used to dilute (or "cut") the expensive THC distillate oil while (unlike with other, thinner cutting agents) still maintaining a thick enough consistency to fool unsuspecting buyers into thinking it is purer than it really is, and thus greatly increasing the profit margins.  Yes, you read that right--for filthy lucre.  And they now have a ton of karma to answer for.

And while there apparently have also been some bad actors in the legitimate cannabis market that used this additive here and there, the fact remains that it has been quite rare overall.  And there is still no evidence that Vitamin E Acetate was ever used in any nicotine-containing vapes, whether legitimate or counterfeit.  (Note that those EVALI patients who reported "only nicotine" vaping and not THC may not have been entirely honest.)  In other words, it is fundamentally a black-market and counterfeiting problem that is best solved with legalization and sensible regulation, not blanket prohibition or overregulation.

There may very well have been other additives to blame as well, along with heavy and hard metals leaching from the heating coils of janky devices.  And perhaps some statistical flukes thrown in for good measure.  But these other minor culprits are basically sideshows compared with Vitamin E Acetate, and again the best solution is legalization and regulation of such products and devices, not prohibition.

Of course, that would make too much sense.  But truth is always the first casualty in any moral panic.

And really, SHAME on anyone (politicians, pundits, regulators, and activists) who cynically and disingenuously used the horrendous and hellish suffering of the over 2500 EVALI victims (and over 50 deaths) as a ploy to push their hateful and regressive prohibitionist agendas, while essentially hiding or denying the real cause of the illness for several months, before finally admitting it well after the epidemic had peaked.  You had a chance to save so many lives and prevent so much suffering, but you chose to sit on it, because reasons.  You now have just as much blood on your hands as the aforementioned bad actors that chose to adulterate their products with questionable additives for filthy lucre.  What you did was unforgivable in our view, but you now have a chance to make amends (albeit belatedly) to keep your karma from getting any worse.  So what are you waiting for?  Legalize and regulate yesterday!

JANUARY 2020 UPDATE:  The latest CDC report confirms yet again that the vast, vast majority of EVALI patients, among those for whom data is available, reported obtaining THC vapes from "informal" sources.  And while the anti-legalization lobby seized upon the finding that 16% of those reporting THC vaping reported obtaining their products from "commerical" sources, keep mind that that figure also includes unlicensed pop-up shops that may appear legitimate but are not, and there is always the possibility of recall bias when more than one product is used or shared.  Again, the real solution is to legalize, regulate, and root out the bad actors, not to categorically ban cannabis or vaping.

Though relatively rare, Vitamin E Acetate  has recently been found in some legal THC vape cartridges on the shelves of licensed dispensaries, including medical dispensaries upon testing, at least in Michigan.  A product recall was rightly issued.  Another state that bothered to test for it, such as Massachusetts had found none of that additive in their legal products, but had temporarily quarantined their products in November so they could be tested before reaching consumers.  This is how the system of quality control is supposed to work, and far better than the black market, which has ZERO quality control.

(For those who are interested, the hypothesized underlying chemistry of how exactly Vitamin E Acetate can cause EVALI can be found here and here.  Once thought to be lipoid pneumonia based on a handful of case reports, it turned out to be more like chemical burns in the vast majority of cases.)

The Kids Are Still (Mostly) Alright in 2019

The latest 2019 Montoring the Future survey results are in.  And while the mainstream media are hyping this year's significant increase in teen vaping (of both nicotine and cannabis), they seem to be glossing over the good news.  For example, teen alcohol and (combustible) tobacco use have both plummeted to record lows, prescription drug abuse (especially opioids and amphetamines) is way down (in contrast to adults), and nearly all other substances (even heroin, again unlike adults) have held steady this year at relatively low levels compared with previous decades.  The one notable exception is LSD (acid), which showed a modest increase this year, but still remains far lower than it was before 2000.

Even cannabis use in general held steady overall this year, and while "daily" (i.e. 20+ days/month) use did see a modest increase this year for grades 8 and 10, in grade 8 it was no higher than it was in 2011 (prior to recreational legalization in any state) and is still quite low.  And keep in mind that for grades 8 and 10, data only go back to 1991, unlike grade 12 which goes all the way back to 1975. Thus, one can extrapolate based on grade 12 data that "daily" use for grades 8 and 10 are also both most likely far lower than they were in the late 1970s and early 1980s, as we know to be the case for grade 12.  And actual, true daily use (i.e. literally every day) is likely even lower still as well.

Even the vaping data are a bit outdated now, since the MTF survey was taken in the spring of 2019, at least several weeks or months before the new "mystery" vaping illness (now called EVALI) outbreak was suddenly announced during the summer.  Since then, the widespread fear of this scary but fortunately now-waning epidemic has likely reduced the popularity of vaping in general, so next year's data will likely be significantly lower than it was in early 2019.

Additionally, the data from another survey, the NSDUH, show that past-year and past-month cannabis use in general has been stable or declining for years for 12-17 year olds nationwide, even as it has been modestly and steadily rising for both 18-25 and 26+ year olds in recent years, and as it has become increasingly legal and socially acceptable to use cannabis and admit to doing so.  The same survey also finds that rates of cannabis use disorder (i.e. abuse/dependence) have been steadily declining for 12-17 year olds since the pre-legalization era, and have been relatively stable for 18-25 (undulating plateau) and 26+ year olds (flat) overall since 2002.

But don't expect the fearmongering mainstream media to tell you that, of course.

Have A Safe And Happy Holiday Season

(This is a public service announcement)

It is that time of year again when the holidays are upon us, and many of us Americans (and around the world) will be celebrating with alcohol and/or other substances.  We at Twenty-One Debunked would like to remind everyone to be safe and celebrate responsibly.  There is absolutely no excuse for drunk driving at any age, period.  We cannot stress this enough.  It's very simple--if you plan to drive, don't drink, and if you plan to drink, don't drive.  It's really not rocket science, folks.  And there are numerous ways to avoid mixing the two.  Designate a sober driver, take a cab, use public transportation, crash on the couch, or even walk if you have to.  Or stay home and celebrate there.  Or don't drink--nobody's got a gun to your head.  Seriously.  And the same goes for other psychoactive substances as well, and a fortiori when combined with alcohol.

ARRIVE ALIVE, DON'T DRINK AND DRIVE!!!   If you plan to drink, don't forget to think!  The life you save may very well be your own.

The Federal Smoking And Vaping Age Has Been Raised To 21

Well, it's now official.  As part of a must-pass budget bill to avoid yet another government shutdown, Congress attached several provisions unrelated to spending, most notably a rider that hikes the federal age limit for the sale of tobacco and vape products from 18 to 21 nationwide.  And on December 20, 2019, Trump signed it into law, and even had the GALL to brag-tweet about it.  And while Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch "Awkward Turtle" McConnell, a big supporter of the age limit hike, was no doubt very pleased with himself for his "victory", we need to remember that both duopoly parties overwhelmingly supported it.  Tyranny is apparently as bipartisan as it is whimisical--and very cowardly as well.

For practical purposes, the new age limit actually takes effect after 180 days plus an additional 90 days, meaning an effective delay of nine months from the date of signing.  Thus, by September 2020, Tobacco 21 will have been fully phased in nationwide.

The text of the new federal Tobacco 21 law does two things:  1) amends the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2019 by changing "18" to "21", and 2) while it technically no longer forces states to change their own laws (unlike the original version), nonetheless amends what was once called the Synar Amendment by requiring states to enforce (against vendors) the new federal age limit of 21 for the sale of tobacco and vape products, in order to quailfy for certain substance abuse prevention grant monies.

Though weaker than its original version, it is that second provision that may prove to be the Achilles heel of this law if it were to be challenged in court, on both Tenth Amendment as well as Fourteenth Amendment.  And if such a challenge ever proves successful, it will no doubt also overturn South Dakota v. Dole, and the National Minimum Drinking Age Act along with it.  But until then, it is long past time to be very, very angry at what passes for "leadership" in America's long, dark night of the soul.

Winter is coming, in more ways than one.

UPDATE:  Looks like the FDA isn't wasting any time in raising the tobacco and vape product sale age to 21.  As of December 27, 2019, they officially noted on their website that it is now illegal to sell tobacco or vape products to anyone under 21.  FEH.