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States that have legalized marijuana may have avoided the worst consequences of a respiratory disease outbreak associated with unregulated cannabis vapor products, a federally funded study found.
In late 2019 and early 2020, a vaping-related lung disease called EVALI resulted in 68 deaths and nearly 3,000 hospitalizations in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention later linked the disease to a vitamin E acetate found in black-market THC vape concentrates.
The new study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence and reported by the online news site Marijuana Moment, found that the incidence of EVALI cases was lower in states where adult cannabis is legal or in that cannabis users can grow themselves.
Meanwhile, the states with the highest numbers of EVALI cases tended to be those with blanket bans on cannabis use or bans on cannabis cultivation by patients with medicinal cannabis.
The study concludes that the harm from black market steam products has been reduced in states where cannabis users could obtain legal, regulated alternatives.
“Put simply, when the public can legally obtain products from reputable sources, there is less demand for illegal products,” the report said.
Cannabis remains illegal under Texas law, with the exception of those suffering from diseases such as cancer and PTSD. However, during the period under review, the Lone Star State’s medical weed laws were even stricter.
It is unclear from the analysis how the Texas ban was included in the number of EVALI cases. There is no data from Texas showing how many of its cases required hospitalization during the study period, the authors note.
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