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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements Wednesday with two cannabis companies accused of deceiving consumers by mislabeling industrial hemp-derived THC products — enforcement action that comes as state officials face mounting criticism over systemic gaps in marijuana safety testing.
One of the settlements involves MC Global Holdings, a Texas company that operates there and in Colorado, and its Vivimu brand, which agreed to stop misrepresenting hemp products as “organic” or as offering medical benefits, according to a news release. The company must overhaul its website to ensure marketing accuracy, register with the Secretary of State, implement an age-verification system, and comply with subscription regulations.
The settlement will also require that Vivimu implement an age-verification system for online sales and cease any claims of being “organic” unless formally certified — language that state investigators found had misled consumers into believing the products were safer or more natural than they actually were. It will pay an initial $50,000 penalty, which could rise to $250,000 for future violations
The other settlement targets Cookies Creative Consulting and Promotions, a company headquartered in Downey, California, which allegedly used its brand to market high-potency, hemp-derived cannabis flower online in violation of Colorado law. The settlement notes that Cookies failed to verify the THC content of its flower products, relying on certificates of analysis that were contradicted by independent lab results showing THC levels well above the federal 0.3% hemp threshold — placing the products squarely in the legal definition of marijuana.
Cookies must now bar Colorado consumers from purchasing those products and will pay a $41,000 fine, which could rise to $141,000 for future violations.
“Companies that deceive consumers are breaking the law, and they will be accountable,” Weiser said in a news release about the settlements.
The enforcement announcement comes amid rising concerns about the safety of cannabis products being sold to consumers in Colorado. Just days before the settlements were announced, state regulators acknowledged that off-the-shelf marijuana products in legal dispensaries have repeatedly tested positive for contaminants — including mold, yeast, pesticides, and chemical solvents — that should not be reaching consumers under existing safety protocols.
Officials from the Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) now say they are in the beginning stage of developing a surveillance testing program, though implementation is likely still months away.
“We know that there are contaminated products that are targeting consumers,” said Heather Krug, regulatory chief at CDPHE’s lab services division, during a meeting of the state’s Science and Policy Forum last week.
Much of the concern focuses on a chemically processed form of THC — often synthesized from cheap, low-THC hemp — that can be indistinguishable in appearance from marijuana-derived THC, but which is converted using methylene chloride, a toxic industrial solvent banned for most uses by the EPA. The conversion process can leave residue of the toxic chemical in the converted, distilled THC. A notable lawsuit and whistleblower reports allege that these converted products have flooded Colorado’s market, aided by regulatory loopholes and lax enforcement.
Justin Trouard, owner of Mammoth Farms, sued the state for failing to test for methylene chloride and failing to prevent the sale of synthetic THC disguised as regulated marijuana. His lawsuit, now awaiting a judge’s final decision, argued that the failure to implement even basic chemical screening protocols has exposed thousands of Coloradans to dangerous, mislabeled products.
As reported in recent Denver Gazette investigations, Colorado’s marijuana testing system shows signs of vulnerabilities, including the fact that the state’s regulations allow licensees to self-select which products get tested, providing perverse incentives for the industry to submit remediated samples for adulterant testing, while contaminated or synthetic products can end up on store shelves.
A Denver Gazette investigation found that statewide mold tests demonstrated unnatural clustering below the legal limits and a drop-off above it, suggesting manipulation at some level. Even when shelf testing has occurred, state officials have often waited months — sometimes nearly a year — before issuing health advisories or recall.
“Consumers should be able to trust the claims businesses make about what they sell, whether it’s cannabis or any other product,” Weiser continued in the release.
Although the attorney general’s settlements signal increased enforcement at the state level, no criminal charges have been filed in relation to the sale of chemically converted THC products, and MED has yet to mandate methylene chloride testing. Meanwhile, concerns persist that the proposed surveillance testing system may lack the teeth needed to deter future misconduct.
State auditors have also begun exploring whether a full performance audit of marijuana safety testing is warranted — a move some say is long overdue.
”}]] Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced settlements Wednesday with two cannabis companies accused of deceiving consumers by mislabeling industrial hemp-derived THC products Read More
