Cannabis vape sales tumbled 26 per cent in the two months following the health crisis that has killed dozens and sickened thousands, according to new industry research.

Legal sales peaked at a combined US$160 million in August in the states of California, Colorado, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, according to a report from BDS Analytics and Arcview Market Research.

As reports of vaping illnesses grew and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention disclosed the first deaths related to the practice, sales slumped to US$126 million in September and US$119 million in October. This was significant for the legal cannabis market as a whole, where vapes accounted for approximately 25 per cent of total sales in the first three quarters of 2019.

Nevada state officials have closed a marijuana testing laboratory and issued a public health warning about tainted strains of cannabis products sold at retail and medical dispensaries in the Las Vegas area, Mesquite and Carson City.

The state Department of Taxation said in a Friday notice there were no reports of illness, but that high levels of mold, yeast, bacteria and fungus were found in some products tested at the Cannex Nevada lab in Las Vegas.

The department said people with suppressed immune systems were most at-risk of illness.

Nevada’s mining industry generated $7.7 billion dollars in gross sales in fiscal 2018 and paid $125 million in state and local taxes.     

By contrast, the state’s fledgling marijuana industry generated just $529.8 million in revenue but contributed $69.8 million to state and local coffers that same year — the first of legal recreational sales. 

By the next year, fiscal 2019, marijuana taxes amounted to just under $110 million, according to the state, on sales of $639 million. 

Officials in Nevada issued a public warning after they found numerous contaminated marijuana products in stock and already sold through a handful of Las Vegas dispensaries, according to reports from Fox 5 Vegas.

According to Fox 5, “regulators are blaming the Las Vegas lab, CANNEX Nevada LLC, for approving the products. As a result, state regulators shut down the lab until its practices can be reviewed.”

When Nevada first legalized recreational cannabis in 2017, it seemed liked Las Vegas was immediately poised to welcome an influx of weed-loving tourists. A museum opened, a number of cannabis-fueled classes began to crop up, and a series of marijuana-themed tours took root. However, public consumption has hit a legal roadblock, with recent Nevada legislation postponing the licensing of consumption lounges for two whole years.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! And of course what we mean is that MJBizCon Las Vegas has arrived once again. Setup is officially underway at the world’s largest cannabis conference.

The conference will take place December 11 to 13 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Approximately 35,000 people from more than 70 countries are expected to attend this year. The show will feature more than 1,300 exhibitors from all different areas of the industry including greenhouse manufacturers, lighting suppliers, financial advisors, cannabis industry lawyers and everything in between. 

Booth are being put together for MJBizCon Las Vegas 

Lab testing is a key factor in most legal cannabis markets. Most immediately, this is what helps ensure that the products consumers purchase are not contaminated with harmful substances such as mold, yeast, pesticides, or other chemicals.

It’s also one of the ways that weed-legal states try to ensure a certain level of uniformity in terms of telling consumers the potency of different products.

Ultimately, lab tests serve a number of functions as more and more governments begin figuring out how to regulate a legal marijuana industry.

The number of illegal cultivation sites for marijuana in Nevada have plunged since the drug was legalized in the state.

Twenty illegal cultivation sites were destroyed in 2018, compared to more than 150 sites in 2012, The Nevada Independent reported Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) numbers said. Nevada legalized recreational marijuana in 2017.

The American Addictions Centers analyzed DEA data, finding more illegal cultivation occurs in states where the drug is illegal, with Kentucky leading with 9,300 cultivated marijuana plants per 100,000 people.

A company is now offering coffee and tea infused with cannabis.

Cannabiniers is offering Brewbudz, a flower-based edible in compostable, single-brew pods that are compatible with all K-Cup and K-Cup 2.0 style brewers, according to the company's website.