GREELEY, CO – JULY 21:The Weld County Courthouse stands near downtown at the Weld County Centennial Center in Greeley July 21, 2020. (Alex McIntyre/Staff Photographer)
The Colorado Attorney General’s Office alleges a former Greeley-based cannabis company illegally sold products classified as industrial hemp, though the products contained THC levels far above the .3% maximum allowed for industrial hemp products.
The lawsuit alleges CBDDY — which was located in Greeley and operated mostly online while in Colorado — sold edible cannabis products, smokeable cannabis flower and high-THC concentrates, some of which contained 35 times the legal amount of THC. The lawsuit was filed June 11 in Weld District Court against Gee Distributors — which was doing business under the name CBDDY — and its owner Christopher Landon Eoff.
“Colorado’s legal cannabis regulations are designed to protect consumers, ensure the highest safety and quality standards and keep cannabis out of the hands of kids,” Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiner said in a news release Tuesday. “In this case, the defendant recklessly sold products that were, in some cases, more potent than even what is sold in state-licensed dispensaries with little regard for requirements like lab testing and age verification. As this action shows, we will hold accountable anyone who evades Colorado cannabis laws.”
This case is the first enforcement action under Senate Bill 22-205, which “prohibits the chemical modification, conversion or synthetic derivation of intoxicating tetrahydrocannabinol isomers that originate from industrial hemp or may be synthetically derived.”
In 2018, Congress legalized the limited manufacture and sale of consumable industrial hemp, defining industrial hemp as hemp containing no more than .3% of the psychoactive chemical delta-9 THC. The Attorney General’s Office said the law spurred an increase in industrial hemp companies trying to dodge state regulations and taxes that would apply to recreational marijuana. The lawsuit alleges that while the company claimed their products were “100% compliant” with federal law, some of CBDDY’s products contained as much 10.5% THC.
The state requires companies selling industrial hemp to test their products at one of 12 certified testing labs. Much like with recreational and medicinal marijuana, the lab issues a certificate with information about the content of the hemp products, according to the release.
Though businesses are not required to provide the certificates to consumers, the Attorney General’s Office said failing to properly disclose the psychoactive content of products can result in consumers experiencing unwanted intoxication, employment issues due to failed drug tests or unknowingly breaking the law.
Investigators also found CBDDY forged or altered certificates of analysis to pass its products off as legal, according to the lawsuit, as well as promoting false and illegal claims of health benefits. The company also failed to verify the age of customers and was found to improperly market their products in forms, flavors and imagery designed to appeal to children, investigators say.
“The attorney general is asking the court to bar the defendants from continuing to deceptively market their products, and to pay civil penalties and restitution for their repeated violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act,” the attorney general’s office said in the release.
Anyone who believes a company is engaged in deceptive business practices is encouraged to file a complaint with the attorney general at StopFraudColorado.gov.
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