At least some of the illnesses caused by putting tainted products into nicotine vaping devices has a source; synthetic marijuana, also called K2, Spice, and other things, sold in a product called Yolo and made by Janell Thompson, co-founder of the companies called Hookahzz and Mathco Health Corporation.

In 2017 they began to make Yolo with synthetic marijuana - because it's cheaper. And then poisonings began to happen in Utah. A former bookkeeper who was concerned about the business practices (and who was filing a workplace retaliation lawsuit in California) noted concerns about the products and now Thompson has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute synthetic marijuana and a money laundering charge. 

This year has seen a rash of illnesses and deaths in vaping products and while federal groups initially targeted the legitimate nicotine vaping companies, it was obvious to the user base that these were adulterated non-nicotine products. 



Instead of marketing to children, as critics charge is common, Thompson had taken the more reliable route - celebrities. Thompson got her CBD vaping products given away at an Emmy Awards pre-party, and included in Oscar nominee gift bags in 2014.

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency is still a political body, they are going to focus on what is getting media attention, so they were giving reports of spiked CBD vaping juice no attention and focusing on opioids. In 2019 that changed.