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Colorado’s attorney general is suing Greeley-based cannabis product retailer Gee Distributors, which does business as CBDDY, as well as owner Christopher Landon Eoff for allegedly selling marijuana marketed as industrial hemp.
According to an announcement from Attorney General Phil Weiser’s office, the lawsuit filed in Weld County District Court marks the first action against an industrial hemp operator in the state under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act.
The lawsuit alleges that some of the products sold by CBDDY contained THC levels 35 times higher than what is allowed in the state’s regulated marijuana market.
“The defendant recklessly sold products that were, in some cases, more potent even than what is sold in state-licensed dispensaries with little regard for requirements like lab testing and age verification,” Weiser said in a news release.
State governments have been cracking down on intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids in recent years.
Industrial hemp production was legalized nationwide by the 2018 U.S. Farm Bill, although lawmakers did not expect the action would give rise to a bustling market for intoxicating hemp-based cannabinoids such as delta-8 THC and THCA.
CBDDY’s e-commerce site offers THCA flower, concentrates and vapes as well as edibles containing delta-9 THC, the psychoactive cannabinoid in regulated marijuana that appears in trace amounts in hemp.
Eoff did not immediately respond to MJBizDaily requests for comment.
Colorado regulators require industrial hemp companies to have their products tested at one of 12 state-certified testing labs, although hemp operators are not required to provide certificates of analysis to consumers, according to Weiser’s office.
“Adding to the company’s deceptive practices, investigators found CBDDY forged or altered certificates of analysis to misrepresent its products as legal,” the release from Weiser’s office noted.
“The investigation also revealed the company failed to properly verify the age of customers and made false and illegal claims of health benefits.
“Many of the company’s products are also improperly marketed in forms, flavors, and with imagery designed to appeal to children.”
In addition to asking that CBDDY stop marketing its products as hemp, the state’s lawsuit is asking for civil penalties and restitution.
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