--- title: "A CBD Vape Called “Yolo!” Contained a Psychosis-Inducing Drug" description: "By the end of 2018, 50 Salt Lake City-based users of a CBD vape product called Yolo! experienced \"an intense high of hallucinations and even seizures.\"" date: "2019-10-21" modified: "2019-10-21" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/neoscope/cbd-vape-yolo-psychosis-drug" categories: - "Developments" - "Health & Medicine" tags: - "cannabis" - "cbd" - "marijuana" - "synthetic marijuana" --- # A CBD Vape Called “Yolo!” Contained a Psychosis-Inducing Drug ![By the end of 2018, 50 Salt Lake City-based users of a CBD vape product called Yolo! experienced "an intense high of hallucinations and even seizures."]() *\Image: Victor Tangermann\* Vapers got more than they bargained for in Utah, according to a [new investigation]() by the *Associated Press*. By the end of 2018, 50 Salt Lake City-based users of an e-cigarette product called Yolo! — short for "[you only live once]()" — that was advertised to contain CBD, the non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana, experienced "an intense high of hallucinations and even seizures," the *AP* reported. Utah state investigators found traces of K2 and other synthetic marijuana compounds, which are nasty drugs [linked to dangerous psychosis]() and [even death](), in Yolo!'s vape products back in 2018. According to *AP*, the advertised CBD wasn't present at all. The investigators have been going after the elusive Yolo! company for years — its owners were hard to track down and the company's name changed at least once — but the hunt stopped short, with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency focusing its efforts on the developing opioid crisis instead. But reporters did find a hot lead: former Yolo! business partner and roommate Katarina Maloney. She claimed in an August interview that all products left the company's facilities "100 percent compliant with all laws." The news comes after the Center for Disease Control [found]() that a recent outbreak in lung injuries or “vape disease” was associated with vaping. The latest estimates suggest that there are currently [more than 1,000 cases]() of the mysterious illness. Representatives from Yolo! and its parent company have yet to respond to requests from *AP*. ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()