Sedgwick County sheriff Jeff Easter says his deputies have seized vape cartridges that have high concentrations of THC, the main ingredient in marijuana.   He’s urging parents to watch out for the cartridges because they are appearing with cartoon characters on the packaging that may make them attractive to children.

Easter said at a news conference Thursday that the seized vape cartridges are from California, and they’re intended for medical and recreational use of marijuana, but there are no regulations or quality controls.   The vape cartridges his deputies seized have 80 to 90 percent THC, compared with 3 to 7 percent from marijuana seized in 1995.    He said witnesses have reported that a first-time marijuana user can black out after one or two puffs, and regular marijuana users have reported becoming violently ill with abdominal cramps and vomiting.

Easter said parents need to be aware of this product, because recent studies have shown that teens have turned to vaping more than smoking, and the marijuana industry is now working to adapt cartridges to the JUUL vape system.

Easter said marijuana and vape cartridges with marijuana are illegal in Kansas.   He said people in Colorado are only allowed to buy one ounce, but pounds of it are being sold and brought to Kansas and Sedgwick County.   He said it’s being “sold out the back door, no taxes collected in the state of Colorado.”   He also disputed the notion that selling marijuana is a non-violent crime, because his office has two homicide cases involving high-grade marijuana where people were robbed and killed, and there’s also a Wichita case where someone was shot in a deal over high grade marijuana that went bad.

Easter said the people selling the cartridges claim to be targeting people between 15 and 23 years of age, “but don’t tell me that you put something out like this, with five, six and seven year olds, with those kinds of cartoons on it, that they’re not going to want to get a hold of it, or think it’s candy.”  He also said the cartridges have different scents that can mask the odor of marijuana.