Colorado marijuana regulators have issued a statewide health and safety warning after certain cannabis vape cartridges and disposable devices were found to have been manufactured with an ingredient containing methylene chloride, a volatile industrial solvent associated with neurological injury and cancer risks at sufficient exposure levels. The affected products were produced by StayCon LLC, which does business as Craft, and state regulators say identified batches were sold at 405 Colorado marijuana stores between March 27 and September 25, 2026.
The September 25 advisory from the Colorado Department of Revenue and Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment represents one of the more extensive marijuana product warnings in the state this year. Regulators are telling consumers not to use affected vapes and to either destroy them or return them to the dispensary where they were purchased for proper disposal. As of the advisory’s publication, Colorado officials said they had not received reports of adverse health events linked to the affected products, an important distinction from saying the products are safe. The warning was issued because regulators consider detectable methylene chloride in ingredients used to manufacture regulated marijuana a threat to public health and safety.
Methylene Chloride Was Found in an Ingredient Used in the Vapes
Methylene chloride, also known as dichloromethane or DCM, is a powerful solvent used in industrial applications including paint and coating removal, adhesives, chemical processing, pharmaceutical manufacturing and metal cleaning. It evaporates readily at room temperature, which is one reason occupational exposure has historically been associated primarily with inhalation.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has linked excessive short-term exposure to effects on the central nervous system and has identified longer-term concerns including liver toxicity and cancer. Exposure to high concentrations can be acutely dangerous. The important limitation in the Colorado cannabis case is that regulators have not publicly released enough information about the concentration of methylene chloride in the affected vape products or the amount potentially inhaled by consumers to calculate an individual user’s actual risk.
That uncertainty should not be interpreted as evidence that inhaling contaminated vapor is harmless. Colorado prohibits marijuana manufacturers from using methylene chloride, and state officials specifically categorized the affected products as a public-health and safety concern. Unlike many industrial settings, where ventilation and protective equipment can reduce exposure, a cannabis vaporizer is intentionally designed to deliver an aerosol directly to the respiratory system.
StayCon Had Already Issued a Broader Voluntary Recall
The state advisory followed a September 18 voluntary recall by StayCon covering dozens of vape products. The company said a batch of botanically derived alpha-pinene, a terpene ingredient used in certain formulations, had tested positive for methylene chloride. StayCon’s recall notice told customers to immediately stop using affected products.
The company recall covered several OIL vape formats, including 1,000-milligram distillate cartridges, one- and two-gram Tugboat all-in-one devices, four-gram Tanker disposable devices and four-cartridge variety packs. Product names listed by StayCon included Banana Kush, Blueberry Bubble, Diesel Dawg, Fresh Squeeze, Ghost Haze, Grand Daddy Purps, Grape Gorilla, Green Skunk, Hawaiian Sour, Hazy Citrus, Jungle Punch, Mango Kush, Maui Wowie, Orange Sorbet, Purple Punch, Purple Skunk, Sour Diesel, Super Lemon Haze, Sweet Peach and Tropical Punch.
StayCon’s own recall covered products purchased between September 18, 2025 and September 18, 2026, a broader period than the specific batches and retail dates identified in the state’s initial advisory. Investigative reporting on the recall described 49 affected product entries, with some products having first reached dispensary shelves more than a year earlier. Consumers therefore should not assume that every Craft or OIL vape is contaminated, but they should carefully compare the product name, manufacturer information and production batch number with the recall information associated with their purchase.
The Products Reached 405 Colorado Marijuana Stores
The scale of distribution is one reason the state warning is significant. According to regulators, the production batches covered by the state advisory were sold at 405 licensed marijuana stores from late March through September 25. Stores in Denver, Colorado Springs, Pueblo, Pueblo West, Las Animas and numerous other communities were included.
Colorado’s regulated marijuana products carry identifying information that should make an affected device traceable. Labels are required to identify the licensed business responsible for production as well as the product’s production batch number. Regulators are urging customers who still have their packaging to use those identifiers rather than relying solely on strain or flavor names.
That matters because common strain-style names such as Maui Wowie or Sour Diesel may be used by many unrelated cannabis manufacturers. A consumer possessing a Maui Wowie vape from another company should not conclude that it is part of the recall simply because the name matches. The manufacturer, product format and batch information are what determine whether a particular device is affected.
A Private Laboratory Detected the Contamination Weeks Earlier
The warning has also renewed scrutiny of Colorado’s marijuana testing system. Denver-based Bona Fides Laboratory reportedly detected methylene chloride in a StayCon product during testing in August. Laboratory owner David Mathis said he promptly informed both StayCon and state authorities after the chemical was identified.
According to reporting by The Denver Gazette and ProPublica, that notification occurred approximately six weeks before StayCon sent its recall notice to dispensaries. The state subsequently issued its own public health and safety advisory on September 25, one week after the manufacturer’s voluntary notice.
The timeline is important because Colorado was already preparing to expand mandatory testing for methylene chloride and dozens of additional solvents. Had that expanded testing regime been operating earlier, the contaminant potentially could have been identified through routine compliance testing rather than being discovered separately by a laboratory conducting broader analysis.
Colorado’s Expanded Solvent Testing Had Been Delayed
Colorado had planned to introduce an expanded testing protocol covering methylene chloride and approximately 30 additional solvents in July 2026. Implementation did not happen on schedule. The Marijuana Enforcement Division said the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which evaluates laboratories and recommends certification, needed additional time before the updated testing requirements could begin.
The expanded program is now expected to start at the end of September. That means the state advisory emerged just as Colorado was finally preparing to require screening capable of routinely detecting the type of chemical at the center of the StayCon recall.
The delay has become particularly controversial because a number of other state-regulated marijuana markets already test for a wider range of residual solvents. Colorado was the first state in the country to launch legal recreational marijuana sales, yet its testing regulations have not necessarily remained the most comprehensive as cannabis manufacturing methods have become more complex.
Why Methylene Chloride Has Appeared in Cannabis Investigations Before
Methylene chloride is not a normal ingredient consumers would expect to encounter in a regulated marijuana vape. The chemical has also attracted attention because it can be used during processes that chemically convert hemp-derived cannabinoids into intoxicating THC compounds.
Hemp typically contains large quantities of CBD but relatively little naturally occurring delta-9 THC. Chemical processors can transform CBD into intoxicating cannabinoids through laboratory reactions. Depending on the process, acids, solvents and other chemicals may be used, creating the possibility of residual contaminants or unintended reaction byproducts if purification is inadequate.
Colorado has taken a restrictive approach to chemically converted intoxicating hemp in its regulated marijuana market. State law prohibits certain chemical conversion practices, and marijuana manufacturers are not permitted to use methylene chloride. Previous independent testing conducted as part of investigations by The Denver Gazette and ProPublica found indications that hemp-derived or chemically altered material may nevertheless have entered products sold through Colorado’s licensed marijuana system.
That broader history does not establish that the current StayCon contamination resulted from illegally converted hemp. StayCon’s recall notice attributed the methylene chloride to a botanically derived terpene ingredient. Regulators have not publicly announced a final determination proving a different source, so the precise pathway by which the solvent entered the affected products should remain distinguished from broader concerns about chemical conversion.
Colorado Has Faced Previous Questions About Vape Testing
The StayCon recall arrives during a larger examination of how Colorado samples and tests cannabis products. Current rules have historically allowed marijuana businesses considerable control over which samples are submitted and which licensed laboratories perform their testing.
Regulators considered requiring laboratory personnel or independent contractors to collect samples themselves, a system intended to reduce the possibility that unusually clean or specially selected products could be submitted for testing while less representative material reaches consumers. Industry members objected that independent sampling could substantially raise compliance costs, and regulators stepped back from portions of that proposal.
The methylene chloride incident illustrates a separate but related challenge. A laboratory can only routinely identify chemicals included in the testing panel unless it performs broader investigative analysis. Cannabis chemistry has evolved rapidly, and regulators increasingly must decide whether traditional tests for pesticides, mold, heavy metals and common extraction solvents are adequate for products manufactured using newer cannabinoid and flavoring processes.
The Federal Status of Methylene Chloride Recently Changed
The controversy also comes at an unusual moment for federal chemical regulation. In 2024, the EPA adopted a rule prohibiting most consumer, commercial and industrial uses of methylene chloride while allowing limited uses under strict workplace controls. The agency cited risks including neurological harm, cancer and death from excessive exposure.
On September 15, 2026, however, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated that broader EPA rule and its underlying risk determination, sending the matter back to the agency. The court found legal and evidentiary problems with how EPA developed the regulation.
The ruling should not be interpreted as a finding that methylene chloride is safe. The court addressed the EPA’s regulatory methodology and statutory authority rather than declaring the chemical harmless. More importantly for Colorado marijuana consumers, Colorado’s restrictions on methylene chloride in regulated cannabis are separate from the federal EPA rule. The federal court decision does not make methylene chloride permissible in Colorado marijuana manufacturing.
No Adverse Health Events Had Been Reported When the Warning Was Issued
Colorado regulators said they had received no adverse health-event reports associated with the affected products as of September 25. That is reassuring to a degree, but it has limitations. Cannabis consumers may not associate nonspecific symptoms with a particular vape, and the absence of reports does not establish how many people used an affected product or what their individual exposure might have been.
Health effects from methylene chloride depend on factors including concentration, exposure duration and route of exposure. The state has not released sufficient vape-specific exposure data to say whether a person who took a few inhalations faced the same risk as someone who regularly used an affected cartridge.
Consumers experiencing unusual or significant symptoms after using a recalled device are being advised to seek medical attention and report the incident to the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division. Those reports can help public-health officials determine whether the contamination is associated with measurable illness among consumers.
What Colorado Consumers Should Do
Anyone who purchased a Craft or OIL vape manufactured by StayCon should check the packaging before using it again. The product name alone is not sufficient; customers should examine the producer information and production batch number and compare them with the state and manufacturer recall records.
If a device is included in the affected production batches, Colorado regulators recommend that consumers stop using it immediately and either destroy it or return it to the dispensary where it was purchased for proper disposal. Consumers should not attempt to continue using a recalled cartridge simply because it looks, smells or tastes normal. Methylene chloride contamination cannot reliably be detected by visual inspection.
People who no longer have the original packaging but believe they purchased one of the affected products can contact the dispensary where it was bought. Retailers should be able to help determine whether the product corresponds with an affected batch.
A Major Test for Colorado’s Regulated Marijuana System
Colorado’s legal marijuana system was built partly around the argument that regulated cannabis could provide consumers with protections unavailable in an illicit market: laboratory testing, traceability, ingredient controls and the ability to recall unsafe products. The StayCon case demonstrates both the value and the limits of that system.
Because the products were produced and sold within a regulated market, investigators can identify the manufacturer, production batches and hundreds of stores that received them. A formal recall can remove remaining inventory, and consumers can use labels to identify potentially affected products. At the same time, the contamination appears to have exposed gaps in what routine testing was designed to detect and how quickly regulators communicate emerging risks.
The most important immediate fact is straightforward: Colorado has determined that specified StayCon vape products made with an ingredient containing methylene chloride should not be consumed. No adverse health events had been reported when the advisory was issued, and officials have not released enough exposure data to quantify the danger to individual users. But with affected products distributed through 405 licensed stores and broader solvent-testing rules only now taking effect after a delay, the episode is likely to intensify scrutiny of how one of America’s oldest recreational marijuana markets tests modern cannabis products before they reach consumers.
