Michigan Proposes New Laws to Combat Vaping Crisis

Toward the end of 2019, a rash of vaping-related injuries and deaths caught the country unawares. The culprit was eventually determined to be an additive in certain vaping products known as vitamin e acetate. In response, Michigan’s Marijuana regulatory agency quickly adopted emergency rules to prohibit vitamin E acetate in vaping products, and to improve testing requirements for marijuana products. Our full blog on this issue can be found here.

Now, it appears that the legislature is also stepping in to help protect consumers. A three-bill package proposed in October of last year has now been referred to the Michigan House Judiciary Committee for consideration. These bills, which are House Bill 5159, House Bill 5160, and House Bill 5161, take action against vitamin E acetate in both the marijuana and tobacco industries. HB 5159 prohibits licensed medical marijuana processors from processing marijuana or marijuana infused products that contain vitamin E acetate, with fines ranging from $100.00 to $2500.00. It also forbids medical marijuana provisioning centers from selling those products. HB 5160 echoes these prohibitions in the recreational marijuana industry, while HB 5161 expands the prohibition on vitamin E acetate to nicotine vapor products and alternative nicotine products.

None of these bills have passed at time of writing. Nevertheless, given the increased focus on vaping deaths in recent months, it would be surprising if these bills don’t become law. Marijuana and vaping retailers should be aware of these regulations and ensure that they source their products from reputable businesses to both ensure the safety of their customers, and to avoid potentially costly fines.

Need to speak with our Michigan cannabis lawyers? Call Grewal Law, PLLC at (888) 211-5798 today.