How to Identify a Counterfeit Vape Cartridge

Counterfeit vape cartridges are a serious problem. They are often made to mimic well-known brands and they can reduce consumer confidence in the industry. Worse, they can make you very sick or even kill you if you don’t know how to recognize them.

Unfortunately, the packaging of these vape cartridges can be incredibly professional. In this article, we are going to give you some tips on how to spot the fakes. But first a piece of advice:

Photo by Flickr user Lindsay Fox

Only buy from legal sellers and trusted brands

The easiest way to avoid counterfeit vape cartridges is to only buy from trusted sources. You can get lab test results from legal vendors as cannabis producers must provide them. In these test results, you can see exactly how much THC and other chemicals are in the cartridge you purchased.

When you source your products from trusted manufacturers like PAX Era, your risk of ending up with a counterfeit vape cartridge is greatly reduced.

RELATED: Counterfeit cannabis vapes are everywhere, poisoning people

Of course, this advice is only good if you buy your cartridges online or if you live in a state where cannabis is still a black market product. With this in mind, here are a few tips to help you identify counterfeit products.

Know your brands

Sites like Leafly are incredibly good at listing reliable brands and reviews for those brands. Before buying or vaping a cartridge, find the brand and name on Leafly or a similar resource page. There are so many different vaporizer cartridges cataloged on these sites that if yours is legit, you are almost sure to find them.

RELATED: Is Vaping Cannabis Really Worse For Teenagers’ Lungs Than Vaping Tobacco?

Once you find the product in question, check out the reviews. Also visit the website of the brand you bought. Then compare the packaging you find with the packaging of your vape cartridge.

Photo by Itay Kabalo via Unsplash

This is not a foolproof method – some of the nefarious actors who make these counterfeit cartridges go out of their way to make their packaging reflect reality. Some of them create very high quality websites. But your research can seriously help reduce your risk.

Check for legal compliance

This technique is not flawless, but it can be helpful if you otherwise cannot determine whether the cartridge is legitimate or not.

RELATED: How to Make Sure Your Vape Is Safe

Check the regulatory requirements for vape cartridge packaging in your area. For example, in California you must have:

• Manufacturer name and contact information
• Date of manufacture / packaging
• Government warning for cannabis products
• UID number
• Batch or batch number
• Instructions for use and any necessary preparations
• List of all ingredients
• Allergens
• Artificial food colors
• Expiration, use-by or best-before date

Photo by Sharon McCutcheon via Unsplash

Check state or federal laws (in Canada) to see what information is required on the package, and then verify that your package complies with these regulations. A weed store in Winnipeg will have different packaging requirements for its products than a weed store in Denver.

Be suspicious of offers that are too good

See a cartridge that promises 99.9% THC for $ 10? Be very suspicious.

Inquire online or at your local licensed retailer to find out how much cartridges cost, what ingredients they contain, and how much THC is in the cartridge. Compare these values ​​to the values ​​of the cartridge you bought, and if things are drastically different, you probably have a counterfeit cartridge.

Trust your instincts

If something feels like it’s too good to be true, it probably is. You may not be able to tell by taste, smell, or eyesight. Maybe you just feel like something is wrong. That’s okay. Trust that instinct. Better to waste a few dollars throwing away a genuine vape cartridge than risking and losing a fake one.

We hope this short article helps you avoid counterfeit vapes. Stay safe out there!

This article originally appeared in the Green Market Report and was republished with permission.