The Irish government has classified a popular cannabis substitute as an illegal drug, meaning it will no longer be sold in vapes and e-cigarettes across the country.
Hexahydrocannabinol, or HHC, was one of 14 substances the country classified as a Schedule 1 controlled drug in July, the Irish Examiner reports. That makes the import, export, possession, and sale of HHC illegal.
Health officials and addiction experts praised the move, as HHC had become frequently used in e-cigarettes and edibles, particularly among the country's youth. Researchers from University Hospital Galway found that, among patients presenting with psychosis, it was the second most-common drug used.
"It is a positive development," addiction counselor Michael Guerin told the Irish Examiner.
Nicotine-based vapes remain legal in the country for adults aged 18 and over. And enforcing the new HHC ban while other e-cigarettes remain legal could be tricky, experts warn.
"The big challenge will be enforcement, to ensure that certain shops can't stock these products anymore," Mick Finn, youth services manager with the Cork Education and Training Board, said. "... All the relevant agencies need to be more vigilant and responsive to any new trends that emerge from this ban."
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All vapes have the potential to do serious harm to their users' health and the environment. The Centers for Disease Control warns that the aerosol within e-cigarettes can have cancer-causing chemicals, and the University of California, Davis, found that disposable vapes emit dangerously high levels of lead, nickel, and antimony.
Disposable vapes have also become frequent targets of environmentalists because they are often littered and feature non-biodegradable materials like plastic and batteries, both of which leach considerable amounts of toxins into the soil and water.
Social media is chock-full of examples of people encountering vape waste in nature, and studies have shown that vapes and e-cigarettes contribute highly to the amount of plastic waste and e-waste that occurs globally.
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