Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency Recalls Vaping Product

(AP) The agency overseeing Michigan's marijuana business said Tuesday that it was recalling vaping products containing an additive that health officials have linked to injuries and deaths.

The Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency said it's recalling the vaping cartridges sold at retailers in Bay City and Mount Morris, near Flint. Many of the cartridges had levels of vitamin E acetate more than 500 times the limit at which the additive would be detected, The Detroit News reported.

The recalled products were sold to business by caregivers who typically work with medical pot patients, the agency said. Michigan allows for marijuana to be sold for medical and recreational uses.

Vitamin E is used as a thickening agent but when inhaled it may interfere with normal lung functioning. Fluid samples collected from people who suffered lung damage, as well as samples from vaping products they had used, contained the additive, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

State officials began requiring testing for the additive last month during the outbreak. Michigan and several other states have temporarily banned or restricted the sale of certain vaping products.

Through last week, the CDC received reports of 2,409 people being hospitalized because of lung injuries and confirmed 52 deaths, including two in Michigan.