According to data from Eaze and Jane Technologies Inc., cannabis e-cigarettes (“vape pens”) account for almost 25 percent of sales in California and make up a huge portion of concentrate sales. And a concerning recent  memo released by K Street Consulting is showing that  potentially 90 percent of cartridges dry test for actionable levels of lead under the state’s phase 3 heavy metals testing as required by reforms to the state’s medical and recreational cannabis programs. Many outlets have been super focused on lead, but there are other heavy metals to be concerned about in these devices.

Sasha Robinson, a founder of Firefly Vapo said they “were testing standard heating coil wires of different types,” including nichrome wire, a blend of nickel and chromium. After a month of testing, Robinson said himself and his colleague noticed they had “skin rashes and itching issues, symptoms that were consistent with those of nickel poisoning,” Nickel and chromium are heavy metals, neither one is being tested for under California’s phase 3 heavy metals testing (just cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury).

These are a few of many concerns when it comes to vape pens, so it’s best to just stick to marijuana possibly. But mainstream cannabis is of concern too.

There have been multiple scientific studies published outlining the presence of pesticides, industrial solvents, growth regulators, heavy metals, bacteria  hazardous materials discovered commercially available cannabis products. This shouldn’t really come as a surprise.

Not long ago, a gentleman by the name of Jeffrey Raber, PhD, CEO of The Werc Shop in California state gathered a team and actually tested 57 different cannabis concentrate samples. The results were disturbing to say the least. The study by Werc,  found that more than 80 percent of the cannabis samples were contaminated, with several strains containing unsafe levels of solvent and pesticide residues. Residual amounts of isopentane, a solvent used to concentrate cannabis, were detected in 30 percent of the solvent-based “dabs,” while others contained traces of butane, heptane, hexane, isobutene, isopropyl alcohol, neopentane, pentane or propane.

You can read more about that here.

The point we are getting at is to grow your own. That’s where we come in.

Health Canada allows you to grow approximately 5 times the amount of grams you were prescribed per day in plants i.e. if you were prescribed 5 gram per day, you can grow 25 plants indoors. Many Doctors are not comfortable signing these prescriptions and if they do, they are extremely conservative and don’t understand that many people prefer to eat or juice rather than smoke and this require much more product. There are clinics that can guide you through the process and get you a plant allowance that is large enough for you to be self-sufficient and not risk going over your limits.

Once you mail out the prescription along with the ACMPR document you are not legally allowed to begin growing. While it is very common for people to start growing because they believe that the Doctor is basically the gatekeeper to the program while Health Canada is more administrative, you are not yet legal and could get in trouble with the law. You have to wait until Health Canada mails you your official licence and then and only then are you legally allowed to begin growing.
We strongly recommend starting out the right way and this will ensure you are 100% legal and can focus on the fun of growing for yourself.

If you’d like assistance to make sure you go through the process legally and the right way, please contact us about acquiring a licence and we’ll help you through the process every step of the way. We can connect you with a doctor willing to write you the prescription you need.