Doctor warns against vaping marijuana

FATAL:
Ninety percent of youth patients with severe pneumonia are cannabis vapers, some of whom have died, given hazardous substances in the vapor, a doctor said

• By Lin Chia-tung and Esme Yeh /
  Staff reporter, with staff writer

Pulmonologist Su Yi-feng (蘇一峰) has cautioned against vaping marijuana, saying the devices’ composition could lead to severe pneumonia or even death.

Su made the remarks in a Facebook post following media reports that retired Hong Kong e-sports player Kurtis Lau Wai-kin (劉偉健), also known as “Toyz,” was given a four-year prison sentence after the Supreme Court rejected his appeal against a conviction for trafficking and selling marijuana.

The cannabis products Liu was convicted of selling were marijuana vapes, Su said.

Vapes, also known as electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes), use batteries to heat the so-called “e-liquid” inside the device and produce flavored vapor for users to inhale.

To get rid of the odor produced by traditional marijuana smoking, which can easily be detected by the police, unscrupulous vendors have extracted tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) from marijuana, or even use marijuana directly, and add them into e-liquids.

“Marijuana cartridges” produce almost odorless vapor when heated.

The novelty of marijuana cartridges has attracted many young people, with prices soaring in black markets to as high as NT$5,000 for 5 milliliter, sources said.

Nearly one-third of senior-high school students and one-fourth of middle-school students reported that they have tried vaping, and some of them reported using marijuana in e-cigarettes, a US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey on US teens’ use of tobacco in 2016 showed.

The use of marijuana is particularly risky for children and teenagers, whose brains have not yet fully developed. Their memory, attention and mental health can be damaged, along with problems such as drug addiction and poor academic performance.

“The use of marijuana in e-cigarettes is highly dangerous,” Su said.

Aside from hazardous substances like THC and CBD, there might be residual solvents, pesticides or side products containing carbon monoxide, tar or ammonia in the vapor which are harmful to lungs and respiratory tracts, he said.

Su said that more than 2,000 youth in the US contracted severe pneumonia due to marijuana vaping, some of whom have died.

Ninety percent of patients with severe pneumonia are marijuana vapers, he added.

The tocopherol acetate added to marijuana e-cigarettes, although good for skin moisturizing, is highly toxic and can be fatal if inhaled, Su said.

In the US, e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injuries in August 2019 resulted in 2,807 people contracting severe pneumonia, 68 of whom died by Feb. 18, 2020.

The New York State Department of Health examined 34 patients with severe pneumonia and found that they used different e-cigarette products.

Tocopherol acetate levels in most marijuana e-cigarette products are extremely high, they added.