At its monthly meeting on Sept. 19, 2019, the Commissioners of the Oregon Liquor Control Commission approved three cannabis violation stipulated settlement agreements. In addition, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) provided the Commission with an overview of the ongoing national respiratory illness outbreak and public health investigation that has been linked to nicotine and THC vaping products.
OHA is leading Oregon’s public health investigation into the outbreak, which has identified four cases, including one fatality. Dr. Richard Leman, chief medical officer in OHA’s Health Security, Preparedness and Response Program, told the Commission that doctors had been seeing cases of the respiratory illness linked to vaping since June 2019, with the first reports coming from physicians in the Midwest.
Leman said the symptoms associated with this outbreak are similar to other pulmonary illnesses, or lung diseases, such as pneumonia. Health investigators in Oregon are conducting case history interviews with medical experts who may have treated individuals with unexplained cases of lung disease, as well as interviewing the patients already identified as official cases.
Leman indicated that Oregon investigators are looking for common links in the Oregon cases and will continue to share their findings with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which is spearheading the analysis of data provided from affected states to identify a common cause.
The Commission also approved the following fines and/or cannabis license suspensions, license surrenders, or cannabis worker permit surrender based on stipulated settlements:
Firehouse Trading Co. in Eugene will pay a fine of $4,950 or serve a 30-day recreational cannabis retail license suspension for one violation.
Licensees are: Firehouse Trading Co., LLC; David Coy, Member/Manager.
Next Generation Nurseries will pay a fine of $4,950 or serve a 30-day recreational cannabis producer license suspension for two violations.
Licensee is: Next Generation Nurseries, LLC; Karen Osovsky, Member.
Nuharvest will surrender its producer license for four violations, and each licensee will receive a letter of reprimand.
Licensees are: Boundless Technology, LLC; Casey Nugent, Manager; Randall Elkins, Member; Boundless Technology, LLC (CA LLC), Member; Randall Elkins, Member.
Source: oregon.gov