The recent discovery of the illicit animal tranquilliser xylazine in cannabis vapes raises concerns about harmful contaminants. How do these substances end up in vaping products?
While media attention has highlighted several reports of contaminants being found in vaping products, many of these cases are based on field tests that are notoriously unreliable, a fact one test manufacturer describes as simply “the nature of the beast”. Many, if not most, of these types of reports end up being later debunked by more rigorous lab testing, but by that point media attention has generally faded.