State and federal health investigators are focusing on illicit THC compounds as they search for the cause of a rash of vaping-related respiratory illnesses that struck teens and young adults this summer.
Health officials have interviewed eight of 15 patients in Minnesota who have been hospitalized for severe respiratory illnesses with confirmed links to vaping. All inhaled THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana that creates a high sensation, said Richard Danila, epidemiology program manager for the Minnesota Department of Health.
“True for Minnesota: all of the ones we’ve interviewed, eight of eight, said they used an illegal THC product,” Danila said Tuesday.