Dear Solful Friends, 

Muddy-Shoe Sourcing, Love-Worthy Quality, and Just-For-You Experiences are the standards we’ve committed to operating under here at Solful. These pillars have become what we proudly refer to as The Solful Standard. These standards guide us in choosing the products we carry and help ensure that we are comfortable and confident in recommending every product you’ll find on our shelves. 

We are committed to carrying only the most natural, clean, and safe cannabis products available. Even additives as common as food coloring and artificial flavors won’t make it on our shelves. If we feel that a product could be harmful to your body, we won’t carry it.

So when the news surrounding vaping started to circulate we, candidly, took a moment to gut-check ourselves because as “quasi-caregivers” we realize how seriously the role we play in improving your health and wellness is. It has been difficult to separate facts from speculation regarding vaping, which is why we have waited until now, with some benefit of more information and analysis, to express our views on and responses to this situation. We believe in transparency and education and have always held the opinion that it’s imperative to know exactly what it is we put in our bodies. 

The Mayo Clinic recently released the results of their vape study in the New England Medical Journal following several lung tissue biopsies. “Based on what we have seen in our study, we suspect that most cases involve chemical contaminants, toxic byproducts or other noxious agents within vape liquids.”  The State of California requires that all cannabis products entering the legal market pass testing prior to being distributed to a licensed dispensary.  These state-mandated testing requirements ensure that every product on our shelf has been tested for chemical contaminants such as those referenced in the Mayo Clinic report, and every product we carry has passed testing. Since our inception, we have also self-imposed additional product and testing requirements that exceed what is required by the state. 

Additionally, by following our Solful Standards, we have only ever stocked additive-free vape cartridges on our shelves (i.e., no glycols, glycerins, MCT, Vitamin E, etc.), and our commitment to muddy-shoe-sourcing means that we personally know the makers of our products and have visited many of the farms they source from to make their oil. Our partners employ the safest possible extraction methods using the highest quality, state-of-the-art production equipment. Finally, we have standards in place specific to the hardware our cartridge producers use. 

We want to assure you that we have always taken product efficacy and safety seriously and we will continue to monitor this situation and share information as it is released. For those of you who want to learn more about vaping and what questions you should be asking, we have put together the information below, which we will be updating regularly. 

We greatly appreciate your support, your trust, and feel fortunate to have such strong relationships with you, our customers, and supply partners. Now, more than ever before, we are thankful to have our Solful Standards and values in place.  

Sincerely,

The Solful Team

What Is Known

• The Mayo Clinic released the results of their vape study following several lung tissue biopsies. “Based on what we have seen in our study, we suspect that most cases involve chemical contaminants, toxic byproducts or other noxious agents within vape liquids.” The full Mayo Clinic report can be accessed on the New England Journal of Medicine’s website. 
• In summary, this data says we should be looking for toxic chemical constituents in vape oil. In California, all legal cannabis products are required to be tested for chemicals before being distributed to a licensed dispensary. 
• There are distinct and important differences between “regulated” market suppliers and “black” market suppliers. The former are required to have their products lab-tested by an independent lab, and the latter are not.  All licensed dispensaries in California are required to stock products produced by regulated market suppliers. This said, at present, California regulations require testing for potency (i.e., THC and CBD levels), pesticides, mold, heavy metals, and fungus, but not for additives.  Considering the vaping crisis, we anticipate that testing for additives may soon become part of the standard testing protocol. Such testing is something that we already self-impose here at Solful.

Solful’s Standards

Since Solful’s inception, we have self-imposed standards that exceed those required by the State of California and we only stock additive-free vape cartridges on our shelves.

• Since Solful’s inception, we have self-imposed standards that exceed those required by the State of California.  Specifically, we have and continue to abide by the following standards:   
  • We only stock additive-free vape cartridges on our shelves (i.e., no glycols, glycerins, MCT, Vitamin E, etc.).
• We only source from manufacturers that use high-quality hardware to ensure that the hardware doesn’t permit leaching of unhealthy toxins into the oil (certain suppliers use cheap hardware with plastic components from foreign sources that are susceptible to leaching).

Our Responses to the Vaping Crisis

We are taking a hard stance on additives by continuing our self-imposed requirement that the products we carry be additive-free.

• Because the State of California has not yet required additive testing for products manufactured by regulated market suppliers, we are taking a hard stance on additives by continuing our self-imposed requirement that the products we carry be additive-free.
• We also actively support a ban on additives (for e-cigarettes and cannabis vape cartridges).

Vaping FAQs

How will I know if a cannabis vape cartridge is free of additives?

We recommend chatting with the staff of the dispensaries you visit.

You should be looking for cartridges free of fillers, cutting agents and additives

• Propylene/Polyethylene Glycol
• Vegetable Glycerin
• Medium-chain Triglyceride (MCT) Oil
• Vitamin E

If the staff can’t tell you whether or not the product is additive free, we recommend not using the product.

Where can I get additional information?

• Leafly provided a good look into the oil additive investigation – Read More

• CNBC offered an overview of the Mayo Clinic’s study – Read More

How do I know if I am shopping at a licensed dispensary?

Licensed cannabis dispensaries are required to have their license displayed prominently at the entrance.

How do I know if a product is licensed and regulated?

You can often tell by the information on the label. Regulated cannabis products are required to have:

• CA state cannabis warning logo
• Prop 65 Warning
• Net Weight
• THC and CBD %
• Serving Size

All products will have arrived at the dispensary with a certificate of analysis (COA) from a state-regulated cannabis testing facility.

Can I review the “COA” to see the testing results?

Licensed dispensaries are required to keep testing results on hand for all products currently on the shelf.

At Solful we are always happy to review testing results with our customers, just ask!

Additional Information And Resources You May Want To Access

You are always welcome to visit Solful and speak directly with a member of our team. If you would like to set up an appointment to chat or would like to ask questions via email please email info@solful.com.

• You are always welcome to visit Solful and speak directly with a member of our team (all of whom have been informed and educated about the current situation).
• If you would like to set up an appointment to chat or would like to ask questions via email please email info@solful.com.