On September 5—just as the nationwide outbreak of lung diseases and deaths connected to vaporizer use was gaining momentum—Janell Thompson, a 42-year-old resident of Carlsbad, California, pleaded guilty in federal court to drug trafficking and money laundering charges.
Thompson started making waves in the cannabis industry in 2014, when her then-company, Hemp Hookahzz, managed to make its way into the swag bags given to attendees of the Academy Awards and the Emmys.
After that marketing coup, Thompson formed another company, where, federal prosecutors allege, Thompson became the mastermind behind the “other” vape cartridge crisis, which saw her company ship poisonous products marketed under brand names, including Black Diamond, Black Magic, and Yolo!, sold in states including Utah, North Carolina and New York.
According to the Associated Press, these products contained potentially deadly “synthetic marijuana“—bizarre and often random chemical concoctions known to cause seizures and other serious problems—believed to have sickened more than 50 people in the Salt Lake City area and another 40 in North Carolina, including high school stude