SALT LAKE CITY (AP) - Authorities say Utah troopers have confiscated 39,908 THC vaping cartridges on freeways so far in 2019.

The Deseret News reports Utah Highway Patrol Sgt. Nick Street said Tuesday that his agency has seen a dramatic increase in drug dealers throughout the state carrying vaping cartridges filled with THC, the high-producing ingredient in marijuana.

Street said most of the cartridges seized are illegally produced locally while others are shipped to the U.S. from other countries.

The discovery comes as Utah’s tally of lung damage cases linked to vaping has increased to 71.

Officials with the Utah Department of Health estimate that 90% of the people who became sick reported vaping THC.

U.S. health officials said last week at least 805 people have become sick from vaping, and 13 people have died.

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