It's Myclobutanil - not 'vaping' - damaging lungs, killing people, & sparking a media frenzy witchhunt on everything from THC itself, to the act of vaporizing, to illegality.
Myclobutanil is considered safe on foods for eating raw, like fruit. But when heated, this fungicide produces Hydrogen Cyanide, a chemical that dissolves lung tissue.
Canada already learned this lesson
When Canada's cannabis market began exploding in 2013, prior to recreational legalization in 2018, "Licensed Producer" insiders were given the green light to grow cannabis for patients. This is when we began seeing a massive increase in the occurrence of a strange lung illness in people smoking cannabis grown with Myclobutanil. In the LP's race for profits, they began using a substance that had no right being sprayed on a plant intended to be smoked or vapourized. At least a few, including a supposedly 100% organic grower (Organigram), were caught using Myclobutanil, and making patients seriously sick, some with permanent lung and nerve damage. Investigations and lawsuits are ongoing.
In 2019, the USA has a "vaping illness crisis"
If you've seen ANY mainstream news in the past few weeks, you know that at least 13 people have now died from "a mysterious lung illness" supposedly "related to vaping", as legalization spreads across the States and cannabis use is on the rise.
Vaporizing (heating a substance until it becomes a gas) involves no smoke or combustion, and therefore fewer byproducts than burning it. When compared to smoking, vaporizing any given compound is always the safer and healthier choice. Nevertheless, the mainstream media have widely announced that it is vaping to blame for the "epidemic" of symptoms, which include coughing up mucus or blood, headaches, dizziness, weakness, paralysis, even coma or death.
But today, new lab results have shown that it's Hydrogen Cyanide (from Myclobutanil) causing this lung and nerve damage, not:
- vapourizing
- legality or illegality
- cannabis
- THC
- or any of the other things wrongly blamed for the crisis.
The Solution
The solution, other than to avoid using 'vape carts' with unknown pre-mixed liquid chemical ingredients, is to go 100% organic. Not just organic, but COMPLETELY pesticide-, fungicide-, and fertilizer-free. Nothing but light, air, water, and soil is required to grow top shelf cannabis, which can be safely extracted and vaporized without fear of any harmful effects.
I wrote a year ago "People are going to die from this," demanding a recall and investigation. Had that happened, some of those people might still be alive, and thousands more not suffering with dissolved lung tissue.
Myclobutanil, just like Neem, is NEVER to be used on tobacco, cannabis, or other plants intended to be smoked or vapourized!
There are safe and effective ways to fight mold WITHOUT dissolving people's lung tissues and nerves!
So go organic, know your grower (BE your grower if possible), and spread the truth that this so-called "vaping illness" has nothing to do with vaping - or with cannabis - and everything to do with ignorance among growers, consumers, and the general public.
DRutter
