Another day, another counterfeit cartridge brand on the black market. This time it’s fake West Coast Cure cartridges hitting the market.

UPDATE 7/5/2020: The easiest way to tell if a WCC cart is fake is if it’s not a pod. The only real WCC vape products currently out are vape pods.

See our video below on fake WCC cartridges, then keep reading on for more information.

West Coast Cure is a brand we mentioned having top of the line wax in our San Jose dispensary coverage. We also included an image of West Coast Cure packaging in our post on a Sacramento dispensary, which can now serve as a handy comparison for general style (WCC has changed their packaging a couple times since that 2017 post).

West Coast Cure Cartridge Refill
Example Of A West Coast Cure Cartridge Sold At The Northstar Holistic Collective.

Fake West Coast Cure packaging has hit DHGate and Alibaba

They’re quite plentiful at DHGate:

DHGate WCC counterfeit carts

Several more are floating around Alibaba:

Alibaba WCC counterfeit carts

One video clip at Alibaba was even nice enough to tip us off to the fact that the cartridge tip copies the logo as well.

detail of WCC empty cartridge

The background noise in that video (link maybe still up?) sounded like a factory, with machinery in the background. Maybe even filmed at the plant that makes these?

We even managed to track down a rare eBay sighting:

eBay WCC empty fake carts

This image provides us with a handy reference for “strains” that we may see on the street…

  • Banjo
  • Grape Gas
  • Tits
  • Trainwreck
  • Lucky Charms
  • Grape Ape
  • GG#4
  • Strawberry Banana
  • Legend OG
  • Foreign Glue

Here’s one telling detail we’ve spotted to help identify counterfeit West Coast Cure carts:

real vs counterfeit WCC cart

UPDATE: Another counterfeit tell!

A reader points out that one difference between real and fake West Coast Cure is the lack of finger holes on the white plastic insert:

West Coast Cure real vs fake

Additional clues: Some counterfeits appear to have a longer mouth piece. The “TM” at the end of the logo rides higher on counterfeits than on the real carts, and if the word “pen” is as bold as the word “cure,” that’s a dead giveaway of a fake as well. Thanks to sharp-eyed reader That Guy for the observations!

A reader had a bad experience with a WCC knock-off

At another site, a reader reported that they got what was purported to be a WCC trueOG sauce pen off of WeedMaps, even with a verified seller. But the cart was bunk, and maybe speculated to be synthetic cannabis. The user reported getting profoundly sick.

If you think that’s bad, we found this Reddit post which, as we read it, has a user obtaining a WCC cart which was filled with BLUE liquid. He reports that the liquid turned out to be Dawn dish soap. Remember the old days when punks would bag up oregano and sell it to kids as weed? We’re almost back to those days.

WCC has indicated that they are changing packaging once again, so when updated packaging comes out we will add it to this post. That will make identifying fakes even easier.

Quality on fake cartridges is a mystery

As always, we should point out that consumer safety suffers when counterfeit cartridges hit the market. Yes, it is possible that home brewers can extract their own cannabis concentrate, even that they get clean product from a reputable source. Or, from the above two horror stories, you can see what else can happen. At the least, you’re likely not getting the high you’re paying for. At worst, you’re in danger of inhaling pesticides, herbicides, various glycol additives, lead, or… Dawn dish soap?

Have you encountered a fake West Coast Cure cartridge or other knock-off product? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below or in our forum!

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66 COMMENTS

  1. 2022 update: WCC is making carts again, with a new ceramic cartridge design. Check their website. I have several and am 99% sure they are real. Purchased from a reputable Cali
    dispensary.

  2. Olá Sou do Brasil e estou chocada com o tanto de tipo de fake da WCC, ontem compramos uma e vim buscar aqui no google o site oficial e vim parar aqui. Alguém podia ne ajudar dizendo qual é o site oficial da WCC? Obrigada

  3. The ones Ive seen in KC seem legit. They taste good, and work good, but they look like some of the fake pics on this article. So how do I really know? Am I supposed to just keep throwing my carts away cause someone says they’re fake?

    • Well, if you’re not in a legal state, then in all likelihood you’re only going to get fakes. Here’s an unaffiliated expert on YouTube who explains the fake cart business very well:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KgSEecv5_0

      Just because a cart is not produced by an official source does not make it automatically deadly. If you trust your source and have no problems, you’re lucky. However, West Coast Cure is actually a real brand. Counterfeits of a real brand are suspicious. Why are they trying to pose as legit? That’s a lie already, so what else are they lying about?

      Contrast the kind of product you’d find at an underground sesh:

      https://dabconnection.com/culture/should-you-buy-from-an-underground-sesh/

      Even though there’s cart brands there that are also unlicensed, they are up-front about being a “street brand” made in somebody’s garage. They sell at an event, people know them, they’re there every week. Even though you’re still trusting your lungs to somebody’s good word and reputation, you have a little bit more to go on, don’t you?

      That’s just life for illegal states right now. We appreciate there’s people high and dry without access, and forced to turn to plugs. We are slowly voting our way out of prohibition, but until then, you just have to use your own best judgment.

    • I found ones that looked super legit (just like the ones above that say real) and wrote the manufacture… their response was all carts are fake. Even if you check their site there are only pods & greens, no carts.

      Not sure what all this “real vs. fake” is about when they are all FAKE.

      • Yes, it is true now that West Coast Cure only produces pods and green now. Back when we published this blog post in 2019, West Coast Cure did produce oilpen cartridges and in fact were among the earliest brands of these. It seems the counterfeiters drove them out of the cart business.

  5. I live in California. I’ve been a dispensary member for decades. Have bought every cartridges out. When I first started with cartridges my shop was illegal, they were $40 each, and got medicine affect 1. When a shops went legal I was buying them for 55 $60 each and got the same medicine effect 1. Then I found a buddy and he had a hookup with some of these cure pen Packaging listed here and I’m getting a better effect call it number 2. Point being, these hippies are all over the place making all kind of different products, some cheap that are good some expensive better bad. My advice, find one you like and stick with it regardless of the packaging. And the lighter the oil the more Pure.

  6. I don’t see how y’all can tell… I’m all the way in texas and getting real deal from cali… So if your not paying attention better open them 👀😜

  7. I just got one from a shop in California SMH I told them about it they straight up said “all carts are pretty much fake “ Like um ! No not plug n play and Muha meds or stiiizy ect they have Bach numbers I can’t even believe this I could literally sue they had grape ape and tits strains and they tasted like straight up olive oil or something

  9. Yeah but it’s not rocket science. If you didnt go to cali and get it. Then you got duped. Because cali will not ship real shit out of state. Its against federal law. So people in alabama saying they bought west coast in alabama and Illinois you all got duped. They dont ship weed. I’ve asked every dispensary in cali. They dont ship. So unless you actually was in cali and bought it. You was robbed real shit

  11. Today I just got a west coast cart and I was able to screw the top off and drip the oil out. I thought it was real at first the oil looked legit but turns out it was fake i didn’t even get high just sick and I feel like shit but the top mouthpiece was way too big and to easy to screw off fuck these people who do this first time fucking with carts in a year I damn well know I’m sticking with bud fuck these do not smoke any of these carts idc how real it looks go get some bud risk is too high for just a high so don’t buy west coast shit or any cart bud is the way

  12. Just got 2 yesterday and they have the same barcode as a reddit post on r/fakecarts

    Hopefully they don’t kill us… I purchased 2 of these from same plug last month and they both worked well and we didn’t get sick. Tasted normal… It’s a risk. I don’t like knowing that I’m smoking something that could be potentially dangerous.

  13. I’m new with these carts . Just started smoking my 2 cart ever . Well I’ll be a mother fucker . I figured I’d learn alittle online . Well damn a lot of talk counterfeit going around . An the fuckin thing I’ve been chief in on all day just happens to be one of them. It’s not me I worry about . My elderly mother is smoking the same counterfeit cart . It helps her appetite. . West I’m on Your side . Real deal or no deal .

  14. I just got one of these in Ohio. Looks like another “tell” is the lack of punctuation (periods) in the Government Warning labeling. Smells like perfume even though there is no label on the box for a flavor (was purported to be “unflavored”, which doesn’t even seem to be an option for the west coast version.)

  15. I recently bought a west coast that know bc of this article I discovered that it was fake, but the highs it gave were freaking great and it tasted exactly like what the box said.

    • Dude i did the exact same thing, and they taste so well and gives you that amazing high. Fake carts aren’t always bad carts. But you never know. Stay safe bro!!

    • Bro I bought one today never heard of west coast cure went to check it out and wound up on here finding out it’s a fake…the high is decent though you have to hit it a few more times than other brands I’ve tried..doesn’t have much weed taste either.

  18. So if I get a cart with the crown centered on the box , it’s fake? What if the cart itself
    Matches the real one and just the box is bad. I don’t wanna waste 50 bucks right now for nothing

  19. This guy’s a fag that sits in his mom’s basement sucking on her fake tits Soo he knows all about fakes definite authority if you people believe what that skinny fruit cake in his you tube videos says your to high on your fake pen cuz look he says every pen is fake just type in any brand u want

    • We actually don’t have videos for these and we do identify the fakes. There are real and fake ones. No one is skinny here. 700lbs ripped.

  20. I have a GG#4 and a Grape Ape neither have the finger holes, and the 1000 MG is above the CA stamp. Are these fake?

    • Hey man, I just got one of these today in PA and everything checks out for the most part. The fingerholes are there but the “tm” after the “curepen” on the bottom of the cart is slightly higher but much lower than shown in the article. The cure is bolder than the pen part and really looks identical besides that. The 1000 mg thc is below the ca stamp though. Also a watermelon sorbet cart by the way. Im not sure if mine is the best to use for comparison, but I do know for fact that the plug does get legitimate medical carts. Just skeptical whether this specific one is. I feel fine but I’m high as hell after just two hits and I smoke often lol

  21. I got 2 of them. One is banjo made with sauce, the other is grape ape. The banjo one has the finger wholes, but the label on the cart has “CUREpen” with the “tm” above.
    The grape ape sticker is not straight, has finger holes, label says “CUREpen” with “tm” at same level. Both say “1 CARTRIDGE THC” at bottom, and says 1000MG under flavor sticker. Are they real or fake??

  22. I picked up 4 real and 1 fake, and dude got them all from the same guy.

    Real one has fingerholes, and says “1000 MG THC” on the front, below the CA warning. The fake ones say “1 CARTRIDGE THC” instead.

    Fake box, side by side, is taller, viewed from the bottom. As in, if you lay both boxes on their back on a table (with the front facing up), the front of the box on the fake will be closer to the ceiling.

    For some reason, the logo on the coils looked **exactly the same** on both. Liquid on the fake moves much much much faster.

  23. Hey dude, new on the game. Finger holes,curepen is all the same boldness. The tm is in the right place. The crown is only on one side. The color is amber gold. So everything you said to look for is legit except the CURE and PEN are tje exact same amount of bold or darkness. It looks just like the real example but in one paragraph they said the word pen and cure should be different boldness. Let me know mix master.

  24. Smoked these with my gf for about 4 weeks. We both ended up with flu symptoms followed by pneumonia. I am literally writing this at day 5 in my hospital bed. Please just stay away from this brand entirely. Going back to real bud once I recover. Can’t trust an unlicensed brand like this.

    • Dude thanks for your honesty. We have smoked one that made me so sick. My face turned red and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I was a little scared. I had just had surgery so I thought it was a reaction to my pain meds but now that I read this, it makes sense. Back to bud for us!!

  25. So I bought 2 of the west coast today. They are both different sizes. One of the boxes is a misprint which I know is a counterfeit. But the other one I’m still unsure. The both have the finger holes. The one that came in the box with the misspelling has a crown on both sides of the mouth piece and the Curepen tm is smaller font and has 4 of the lil hole one the inside are larger vs the other. The other one which is smaller in size does not have a crown on both side just one and it looks a lil tilt but not drastically and the cure logo is a lil bigger and the 4 lil hole on the inside are smaller. Help?

    • Good chance its fake. Even though they are always updating packaging, the fakes get there right away now too. So using our guides will get you out of most of the fakes, but still there can be new style fakes!

  29. I have the banjo trainwreck grape gas and tits all legit. I have gotten 2 fake ones they actually had shorter mouth pieces and the cure tm was like the fake i knew it was fake and my plug got it corrected they were very shocked to find two out of hundreds to be a fake. But everything on my end checks out. Keep us updated. Also some fakes have the wcc symbol on both sides of the mouth piece

  32. Mine shows that it is fake but when I take a hit it gets me high. So is it real or??? Can counterfeits get you high as well? Because the first and second pull got me high

    • Counterfeit carts get you high because there is still THC in them. They can still put a bunch of other bad stuff in it like Vitamin E & pesticides. I really recommend you don’t hit fake carts because you will never know what the person put inside of them.

    • yes fakes can get you high, they can still have cannabis in them but are also mixed with wax thickener or filler so that the producer doesnt use as much good wax

      • I got one and a friend of mine did different flavors and they both have same identical serial numbers on sticker. I’m pretty sure they are fake also wasnt sealed

  34. I feel that because they can sell you real packaging still won’t prove what is exactly in the cart I just bought one here in Florida the packaging is real but when I smoke the concentration it don’t get me high and I am prescribed here in Florida and a gram of good stuff in a cart is over 50$ it can be upwards to 100$ now compared to buying a 20$ cart on the street I figured it wouldn’t be good, if it ain’t come from the dispensary it is most likely fake! Spend the money on the real over shit flooding the streets anyone can buy the real packaging and put fake concentrate inside the cart! Let me know your input on my response because I feel I speak for many when it comes to this

  35. I have a legend og that matches everything saying its real. Get to smoking it and it has no buzz and there’s what looks to be salt or some sort of crystal in the cart.i havent gotten sick yet. But i hope its not to serious. Stay away from these carts!

    • I’m going to say a few things. 1) any carts that isn’t completely wax(crystals/particles), moves fast or liquidy. Is dark in consistency (not a goldish yellow or almost clear), and or gets darker as you smoke it is cut. 2) just because a cart has a fake box doesn’t mean it is fake. A plug could easily make his own and be of the same quality as dispensary grade but just want the fancy packaging to sell better. It’s all about the wax not the box. I have sold carts of many brands for a year and this is what you need to look for: wax that has no particles or crystals. That’s is the ultimate sigh that your cart can kill you. Your cart needs to be goldish yellow or clearish. Your wax color needs to stay the same as the first hit and always be almost solid. It will take a while for the wax to move even if you keep it upside down or sideways for minutes. Best of luck and don’t risk it. Stay safe.

      • Some of that isnt true. In fact the type of carts you are regerring to are probably shatter based and those would have some particles.

        Regarding the particles: In NV where regs are super strict, everything comes out as just oil thats distllate, BHO oil in vapes (BaM brand does this), CO2 oil (like W vapes), or any of the distillate brands.

        Regarding dark color: Srene and Rythm make some darker carts, they are totally fine and not cut at all

  36. What exactly are “fingerholes?” I’m new to the thc cartridge world. CURE is in bold. Pen is not. TM is high up. Mouthpiece is flat. West Coast Cure curepen. “Prince Williams OG made with sauce.” 1000 mg. 510 thread. 350 MAH. Has a UPC code on back of box. Is this legit and pesticide tested? Or is it counterfeit?

  37. Well, im glad i found this article. I was looking for strain types,as i have 2 west coast pens and i wanted to know if they were sativa, hybrids or indicas. Turns out both my carts are possibly fake
    Hmmmmmmm.

  39. The main thing to look for in the packaging is if the white insert doesn’t have finger holes.

    Focusing on the cartridge itself the counterfeit has a longer looking mouth piece due to a steep taper, you can see this in the large gap between the bottom of the crown and where the taper starts. The logo on the bottom is getting better but the newest counterfeit has the TM lower than the previous but still higher than the authentic….kind of centered on the top of the letter n. The word “pen” is not suppose to be bold, only the word “CURE” so that is a dead giveaway.

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