E-Joints? Company Marketing Marijuana e-Cigarettes

This month’s “Cannabis Cup” in San Francisco featured the unveiling of a product sure to take the debate over e-cigarettes to a new level. Vapor Rush delivers a dose of THC from vaporized marijuana “kief,” or powdered resin. Three varieties are offered by the company, based in southern California. “Smoke your green without a lighter, smell, even weed!” the Vapor Rush website boasts.

Critics of e-cigarettes — including the FDA — say the products are untested and potentially dangerous. “Now, on top of these dangers, there may be additional ones as users are able to “smoke” marijuana in their workplaces, and in other public places including airplanes surreptitiously (without any smell or smoke as the sellers brag), and where bystanders — including young children, the elderly, those with a variety of medical problems, and those who do not wish to get even a little bit high — can be exposed,” according to John Banzhaf, executive director of Action on Smoking or Health (ASH), a leading e-cigarette critic.

With its emphasis on delivering doses of psychoactive THC, Vapor Rush is clearly designed to get users high, even though the manufacturer instructs customers to “visit your local dispensary” to get e-cigarette cartridges.

Advances in research on e-cigarette technology and sussing out the beneficial ingredients of marijuana for medical use might someday see a successful union of smokeless delivery devices for legitimate medical-marijuana users. Right now, however, the hype is far outpacing the hope.