If you live in the United States, you may have heard about a change in laws about how to ship vaping products. A new law was passed by Congress in December 2020, called the Preventing Online Sales of E-Cigarettes to Children Act (POSECCA). It officially took effect in October 2021.
What do the new rules mean for shipping vapes? In a nutshell, the bill prevents the delivery of vapes through the United States Postal Service (USPS). It affects both cannabis vaporizers and non-cannabis devices.
A law designed to protect children from purchasing vaping products ended up in a ban on shipping all vapes through the mail. The legislation was supposed to just ban the USPS from delivering vapes. Private delivery companies can still ship vaporizers, but the law requires that all purchases and deliveries are age verified.
But many of the major delivery companies decided they were unable to verify identities, and didn't want to risk breaking the law or taking on extra costs. Instead, they just decided to no longer transport vaping products.
There are some exceptions to the new regulations, including a difference between dry herb vaporizers and concentrate vapes. There are also other shipping methods beyond the major couriers, companies that are able to follow the new rules in POSECCA.
Why Is Vape Shipping Being Banned?
POSECCA modified another law, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act of 2009. The new regulations in POSECCA added "electronic nicotine delivery systems" or "ENDS" to the PACT act, updating the old cigarette and tobacco bill to include vaping devices.
Even though cannabis vapes have nothing to do with nicotine, Congress defined ENDS to include any type of vaping, so weed vaporizers got covered by the new rules. Even replacement parts and accessories are included. The final text of the law about shipping vapes banned:
- "any electronic device that, through an aerosolized solution, delivers nicotine, flavor, or any other substance to the user inhaling from the device;"
- "any component, liquid, part, or accessory of an ENDS, regardless of whether sold separately from the device.”
Deliveries between businesses (B2B shipping) are exempt from the rules. Hawaii and Alaska too. Non-commercial shipping of vapes between private individuals is allowed, but with limitations.
Will FedEx ship dry herb vapes?
Fedex, UPS, and other major US couriers decided they couldn't meet the requirements of the new law with their package shipments. So they stopped shipping vaporizers entirely. FedEx, UPS, and DHL, have all prohibited mailing a vape using their services.
The new regulations are pretty strict and involve additional paperwork and costs. The law requires vape sellers to verify the age of customers, register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and maintain lists of all customers and transactions.
They also have to use private shipping companies (not USPS). They must verify a customer's identity with a signature upon delivery.
All this has been a major blow to the vaporizer industry, making it tougher and more costly to mail vaporizers in the United States. Without USPS and the major couriers, vaporizers need to be shipped using smaller couriers that are able to comply with the law.
Can You Ship Dry Herb Vaporizers?
It's less clear how the new law about vaping products affects one category of vape: dry herb vaporizers. The definition of what counts as an "electronic nicotine delivery system" focuses on "aerosolized solutions". So the ban specifically affects e-cigarettes and devices that vape liquids.
Devices for dry herbs seem to avoid this new regulation. However, USPS makes it clear that shipping dry herb vaporizers was already illegal under an existing law. The USPS says that because a dry herb vape is used to consume marijuana, it counts as drug paraphernalia and therefore isn't legal to mail using their service.
Some vaporizers are designed for use with cannabis concentrates, some of which are liquids. These products do fall under the scope of the POSECCA bill. Similarly, any vaping products that can both vaporize herb and weed concentrates still count under the rule.
Can you get in trouble for mailing vapes?
If you're a business in the cannabis industry, there can be legal consequences for failing to obey the law. But as mentioned, there are some exceptions available for individuals who want to mail a vaporizer.
Private individuals are allowed to ship a maximum of 10 packages a month to another person. But they're not allowed to sell them: these shipments have to be strictly non-commercial, and no money can be transferred.
These packages can't weigh any more than 10 ounces each. And there's a specialized process to go through if you're using USPS to send it, one that requires a signature upon delivery. Also, these exceptions for individuals allow consumers to return products to a seller or manufacturer.
Portable Dry Herb Vaporizers
Most people choose to buy a portable dry herb vaporizer, instead of a desktop vape or a vape pen. Desktop vaporizers are bulky and need to remain plugged into a wall. Vape pens have worse vapor quality and low battery life.
The best dry herb vaporizers will heat cannabis to a precise temperature. Once it's hot enough, THC and CBD is released into vapor from the herbs. If the heating chamber doesn't heat properly or evenly, some parts of your weed could burn, giving you smoke instead of vapor.
If you want the most portable vaporizer, look at Furna, because of its swappable ovens. You can instantly switch one oven for another whenever you want.
Being able to pre-pack your bowls before leaving the house is huge. No more awkwardly reloading your vape somewhere inconvenient.
Furna also has specialized ovens for cannabis concentrates and 510 oil cartridges, giving you all the options you could want in a single device. Check out Furna to see how it works.
