Save Vaping From The Black Market

A week ago a flood of so-called "vaping" illnesses began flooding the news channels after years of safe, harm-reduction positive influence.  So-called "Vaping" because American's who vape don't consider inhaling THC (pot) to fit the label.  The FDA, and CDC have both come forward saying that it appears that people buying black market THC products from illegal vendors are the culprits behind these new illnesses.  Read that again for clarity, illegal THC products not the type you would buy from a vape shop. 

Within a day of these illnesses coming to light, a witch hunt was set out against vaping, with the governor banning flavors in Michigan, the FDA and CDC telling people, not to vape, and even our President talking about a ban on flavors.  Now NY's Cuomo jumping on board as well and Kaine from Virginia as well.  The fact is flavors had nothing to do with these illnesses, neither did normal nicotine eliquids bought in vape shops around the country.  To iterate, not ONE single illness or death has been proven to come from legal vaping products. 

All this information is valid because it leads up to what will be the greatest public health crisis of our time if we don't demand that our government stands back and listens to the "valid" information I'm about to present.  13 million adults in the United States use vaping products to abstain from smoking cigarettes.  The majority of these adults also use flavored products.  Our history proves that prohibition has NEVER worked, and in fact can become deadly.  All you have to do is research the alcohol prohibition in the 1920s and see exactly where this is leading.  Adults will not stop using a product that is working for them to save their lives, or if it's something they enjoy doing and the government tries to suppress it.  It's already been proven.

We know for a fact now, black market THC products laced with vitamin E acetate, is the most-likely culprit of the new illnesses.  What do you think adults will turn to if they can't get these products legally from their vape shops?  They will do the same thing adults did during the alcohol prohibition and turn to the black market for their product.  That is the exact thing that caused the death of those people and if we follow this course you'll be opening up 13 million more adults to the same type of black market vending.  It will be a public health nightmare. 

The last thing we want to see happen in millions of adults (or even teenagers who will go against the law anyway since they are already obtaining this product illegally in the first place) dying in the street because our government tried a failed method of prohibition once again.  There are solutions that can work to keep teenagers away from adult products, it's called enforcing the law already on the books.  Let's be honest, flavored alcohol is on the shelves today and it's the same scenario but a public ban isn't happening because we remember what happened during prohibition the last time it was tried.

Banning has never worked with teenagers, the only recourse is STRICT law enforcement, and making parents, or any adult buying or selling adult products for children pay the price with jail time using the same exact response for alcohol sales and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.  This could be a crisis of epic proportions if we don't put a stop to it now.  Millions of people dying on the street from purchases of black market vaping products is not the road we want to travel down.  This time I hope you do think of the children, because millions of them without parents would be much worse than cracking down on those breaking the law.