Category: Cannabis

Colorado Cracking Down on Pot Being Sold as Hemp

Vapor Voice archives
Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser is pursuing legal action against a cannabis business for allegedly selling highly potent cannabis products marketed as federally legal industrial hemp.
According to a Tuesday news release, the attorney general’s office filed a lawsuit in Weld County against Gee Distributors, LLC and its owner, Christopher Landon Eoff.
The Greeley-based company, operating as CBDDY, is accused of illegally selling cannabis products containing THC levels up to 35 times higher than the legal limit.
In 2018, Congress legalized the limited manufacture and sale of consumable industrial hemp, defined as containing no more than 0.3% of the psychoactive chemical Delta-9 THC, reports Denver7.
This led to an increase in industrial hemp companies trying to evade state regulations and taxes applicable to recreational marijuana, according to Weiser.
“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,” said Weiser in a statement. “In this case, 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.
“As this action shows, we will hold accountable anyone who evades Colorado cannabis laws.”
June 19, 2024
Florida Governor Vetoes ‘Debilitating’ Delta-8 Ban Bill

Credit: Fokussiert
Floridians will still have access to buying and using delta-8 and other hemp products as Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed a bill that aimed to reshape Florida’s marketplace.
As the bill, SB 1698, moved through Florida’s legislative process, it was opposed by consumers who said they need the products for their physical and mental health and by businesses that said it would cause thousands of Floridians to lose their jobs.
DeSantis, based on his veto letter, seemed to agree. In the letter, DeSantis said the bill would “impose debilitating regulatory burdens on small businesses” and would “introduce dramatic disruption and harm to many small retail and manufacturing businesses in Florida.”
A study commissioned by a hemp trade group found that Florida’s hemp market racked up more than $10 billion in sales in 2022 and employed more than 100,000 people, according to media reports.
DeSantis said he would encourage the Legislature to return to the topic next session to create a regulatory framework for Florida’s hemp marketplace.
“Sensible, non-arbitrary regulation will provide businesses and consumers alike with much-needed stability — safeguarding public health and safety, allowing legitimate industry to flourish, and removing bad actors from the market,” DeSantis said.
He listed three areas he would like the Legislature to focus on: quality control, product packaging requirements and looking at how and where hemp products are sold.
June 11, 2024
South Dakota to Vote on Legal Weed for 3rd Time
Credit: J Doms
South Dakota voters will once again decide whether to legalize recreational marijuana. This is the third time they have weighed in on the question.
On Monday, Secretary of State Monae Johnson’s office validated a measure for the November general election ballot. In 2020, voters passed a measure that was ultimately struck down in court, according to media reports. In 2022, voters defeated another attempt.
Twenty-four states have legalized recreational marijuana. Ohio voters most recently did so in November 2023. Florida voters will also vote on the issue this fall. Other efforts are ongoing in additional states, including North Dakota.
The South Dakota measure would legalize recreational marijuana for people 21 and older. The proposal has possession limits of 2 ounces of marijuana in a form other than concentrated cannabis or cannabis products. The measure also allows the cultivation of plants with restrictions.
If successful, measure backers plan to work with the Legislature to implement business licensing, tax, and other regulations.
June 5, 2024
Vaping Group Praises Reclassification of Marijuana

Credit: Good Man Photo
Representatives of the U.S. vapor industry have welcomed a decision by the Biden Administration to reclassify marijuana.
“The decision clearly underscores this administration’s commitment to listening to constituents and demonstrates a willingness to recognize and accept real-world, category-wide scientific evidence, said Tony Abboud, executive director of the Vapor Technology Association (VTA) in an e-mailed statement.
“In light of today’s decision, VTA is encouraging other agencies within the Biden Administration, specifically, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, to follow the similarly overwhelming body of evidence on the use of vaping products as effective harm reduction and smoking cessation tools for adult smokers.
“In just the past year, FDA’s selective pattern of prioritizing politics over science has led to the approval of more than 650 new cigarettes. VTA reiterates its call for the FDA to follow suit with other agencies in the Administration to stop turning a blind eye to the overwhelming body of science proving the benefits of flavored nicotine options to Americans looking to quit smoking.”
May 3, 2024
U.S. DEA Asks White House to Reclassify Marijuana
Vapor Voice Archives
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration plans to reclassify marijuana as a less dangerous drug, which could have far-reaching implications for American drug policy.
The proposed measure, which is yet to be reviewed by the White House Office of Management and Budget, aims to acknowledge the medical benefits of using cannabis and recognize the fact that it is less prone to abuse in comparison to some of the most dangerous drugs in the country and reclassify cannabis as a Schedule III drug.
However, it does not seek to legalize marijuana for recreational purposes.
Five people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regulatory review confirmed the agency’s move to the AP on Tuesday. The move clears the last significant regulatory hurdle before the agency’s biggest policy change in more than 50 years can take effect.
According to the DEA, the following are examples of Schedule I drugs:

Heroin
Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)
Cannabis
Methamphetamine
Methaqualone (Quaalude)
Peyote
According to the National Institute for Health, California became the first State to make it illegal to possess cannabis. In the 1930s, the then U.S. Federal Bureau of Narcotics warned of the increasing abuse of cannabis, and by 1937, 23 States had criminalized possession.
By 1970, the Controlled Substances Act passed, and the Federal government categorized marijuana as a Schedule I substance.
The planned DEA rule change followed an August 2023 recommendation from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that DEA reschedule marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III. Any change to the status of marijuana via the DEA rulemaking process would not take effect immediately.
May 2, 2024
State Attorneys General Cause Mass Hemp Hysteria

Rod Kight
By Rod Kight
State Attorneys General (AG) have a history of getting it wrong with respect to hemp and hemp products. Earlier this week, attorney Amber Lengacher with the Kight Law firm wrote an article about the Arizona AG’s position statement on delta-8 THC.
Previously, I, attorney Rod Kight wrote in his blog, engaged in good faith with the South Carolina AG, only to have him issue a convoluted and illogical legal opinion that delta-8 THC was illegal. This week, a group of 20 state AGs signed a letter to Congress “to address the glaring vagueness created in the 2018 Farm Bill that has led to the proliferation of intoxicating hemp products across the nation and challenges to the ability for states and localities to respond to the resulting health and safety crisis.”
Aside from failing to provide any evidence of a “health and safety crisis”, the letter also fails by not understanding the hemp market, not offering any concrete proposals, undermining small businesses, and ultimately attempting to interfere with the right of adults to make choices of what legal products they decide to consume without government interference.
First, the state AGs fail to understand that protecting hemp farmers means protecting their end markets. Although hemp fiber and seeds are promising markets, they have not taken hold in a way that incentivizes widespread adoption of hemp as a cash crop. Instead, the current end markets for hemp primarily take the form of consumer products, some of which are intoxicating. As many readers are aware, a Whitney Economics report from October 2023 states:
“Currently, the total demand for hemp-derived cannabinoids is valued in excess of $28 billion and supports the employment of 328,000 workers, who earn $13 billion in wages. Overall, the total economic impact of the hemp-derived cannabinoid industry on the U.S. economy is in excess of $79 billion. While they may seem large, these estimates are actually conservative because they do not account for demand and employment from gas stations, grocery stores, and convenience stores.“
In other words, protecting hemp farmers means protecting these hemp cannabinoid products.
Additionally, attempting to regulate hemp products based on their capacity to produce intoxication is the wrong approach. It’s a classic “Fool’s Errand” that I have written about before. To begin, it is impossible to define “intoxication”, in a way that is workable from a legal or regulatory standpoint. Attempting to eliminate or control intoxication by redefining “hemp”, prohibiting an entire class of hemp products, and/or via capping the allowed milligrams of THC and other compounds that are allowed in a product or package is totally unnecessary. This approach amounts to a “Nanny State” method of addressing an issue that should instead be based on an adult’s personal preference.
As I’ve discussed before, rather than regulating hemp and its products based on “intoxication”, the proper approach should be focused on:
(a) restricting access by minors (ie, age gating),
(b) requiring quality control for production and manufacturing of hemp and hemp products (ie, requiring manufacturers to comply with cGMP and other objective quality standards), and
(c) requiring proper and informative labeling/marketing (ie, ensuring that the consumer is adequately informed about the product).
This three-pronged approach allows adults to make an informed decision about the products they choose to purchase and consume while limiting access to minors and sidestepping the impossible task of defining and regulating products based on their potential to cause intoxication. To use an alcohol comparison, an adult can purchase a low-alcohol “session” beer, a nice bottle of wine, or a large “handle” of hard liquor.
The choice of “potency” is left up to the adult consumer, who can rest assured that the products are properly manufactured and that the label will provide sufficient information about the alcohol content to help her make an informed decision about what to purchase and how much to consume. Of course, alcohol causes both intoxication and a host of health and social problems. The fact that it is lawful and widely available across many retail distribution platforms, including convenience stores, while hemp products are being decried as a public health crisis is, frankly, insane.
Finally, I’d like to comment on that last point, namely, the sale of hemp products in convenience stores, another topic I have previously discussed but is worth revisiting. I frequently hear the claim that “hemp products are sold in convenience stores” used as an argument about how bad and unregulated the hemp industry is. This is a red herring. Of all the possible distribution outlets for hemp products, convenience stores are among the best.
Think about it. For decades, convenience stores have been selling highly regulated products such as alcohol and tobacco that are subject to strict age-gating. To be clear, I favor all properly-regulated distribution channels and platforms for hemp products, from e-commerce sites to boutique hemp wellness centers to convenience stores.
However, to claim that the hemp industry is somehow bad and unregulated because its products are sold at convenience stores, which are highly regulated and frequently subject to agency audits, licenses, high fines, and even criminal action if certain products are sold to minors, is ridiculous. The “convenience store” argument against hemp should die because it is totally unfounded.
There is a war raging against hemp, but it goes much deeper than that. At stake is the future of cannabis reform in the US, the ability for small businesses to thrive in an emerging market, and the right for adults to make their own determination about what they choose to ingest.
Provided that regulations are in place that address age-gating, quality control, and proper labeling, it is difficult to imagine why we need to concern ourselves with “intoxication” or any of the overreaching regulations and blood-sucking tax regimes that are currently strangling the marijuana industry. As the DEA seems to be balking at even a modest rescheduling of marijuana to Schedule 3, hemp stands as the new path forward for broad cannabis reform.
Based in Asheville, NC, Rod Kight is a renowned attorney in the cannabis industry.
This article is not intended to be legal advice and should not be used as such. The matters discussed are novel and involve complicated and unsettled legal issues. Before making any decisions regarding THCA, you should first consult with an experienced attorney.
March 22, 2024
U.S. State Attorneys General Want Action on Hemp

A bipartisan group of 20 state attorneys general are imploring Congress to take action to address a looming public health “crisis” due to the burgeoning multibillion-dollar market for intoxicating hemp products.
Congress legalized hemp under the 2018 farm bill, touting it as a boon for struggling farmers. However, the market has become increasingly dominated by what some call “intoxicating products” that are largely unregulated and often sold at gas stations and convenience stores.
“The reality is that this law has unleashed on our states a flood of products that are nothing less than a more potent form of cannabis, often in candy form that is made attractive to youth and children — with staggering levels of potency, no regulation, no oversight, and a limited capability for our offices to rein them in,” reads the letter, shared exclusively with POLITICO, which was sent to the chairs and ranking members of the House and Senate agriculture committees.
Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita and Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin, both Republicans, led the letter. But it also includes many notable Democrats, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Colorado Attorney General Philip Weiser.
The attorneys general are calling on federal lawmakers to address the issue in the next farm bill, which has been repeatedly pushed back potentially to 2025. They want Congress to alter the definition of hemp under federal law—currently cannabis with no more than 0.3 percent Delta-9 THC—although they don’t provide any specific recommendations for how it should be changed. In addition, they want federal lawmakers to clarify that states have the authority to regulate and restrict hemp and other cannabinoids.
March 22, 2024
Connecticut Sues 7 Companies for Illicit Cannabis Sales

Attorney General William Tong today filed seven new enforcement actions against wholesalers and retailers engaging in the distribution and sale of potent, illicit cannabis products in Connecticut.
Wholesalers include Shark Wholesale Corp. in Bridgeport, Star Enterprise 74, LLC, in New Britain, and RZ Smoke, Inc., in Suffield. The four retailers are Greenleaf Farms in New London, Smoker’s Corner in Norwich, Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke in New Haven, and Planet Zaza in East Haven.

In each instance, the Office of the Attorney General is alleging violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act, which carries fines of up to $5,000 per violation, according to press release.

“Cannabis is legal for adults in Connecticut, but it’s not a free-for-all—retailers must be licensed and legal cannabis products must comply with strict safety standards. Today, we are suing seven businesses—three wholesalers and four retailers– who have sold potent, high-THC cannabis products in violation of Connecticut laws,” said Tong. “None of these products have been subject to Connecticut’s rigorous testing standards or contain appropriate warnings.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong
“Some are sold in dangerous and misleading packaging designed to appeal to children. These products are designed to deceive consumers into believing they are safe, tested, and regulated—that is false. We have multiple active investigations into additional retailers and wholesalers, and we will keep the heat on so long as these dangerous, illegal products are sold.”
Residents over age 21 can legally possess and consume cannabis in Connecticut. Cannabis products may only be sold in the regulated market and must meet rigorous testing and packaging requirements. Cannabis products sold outside of the regulated market continue to be illegal and may subject sellers to civil and criminal penalties.

Despite that, the sale of illegal delta-8 and delta-9 cannabis products and other high-THC cannabis products continues in Connecticut, according to Tong.
In unannounced visits to vape shops and gas stations, investigators from the Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Consumer Protection continue to routinely find illegal cannabis products for sale, including blunts, marijuana flower, and edibles mimicking popular youth-oriented snack foods, including Fritos, Skittles, Airheads, and more.

Illegal look-alike cannabis products pose a unique health threat to children, who may unknowingly ingest high doses of potent psychoactive chemicals. In the regulated adult-use market, edible cannabis products may only be sold in containers that contain a maximum of 100 milligrams of total THC and 5 milligrams of total THC per serving size. Children who accidentally eat an entire snack-sized bag of “chips” or “candy” may be exposed to more than 100 times the maximum adult serving.

Since 2021, the Connecticut Poison Control Center has received 400 calls regarding cannabis exposure in children, including 181 children under the age of 6 exposed to cannabis edibles. The majority of those cases required treatment at a health care facility.
Greenleaf Farms New London

Greenleaf Farms is a CBD retailer in New London with no license to sell cannabis products in Connecticut. Despite that, investigators from both the Department of Consumer Protection and Office of the Attorney General on multiple visits discovered numerous illegal high-THC products for sale, including potent edibles designed to look like children’s cereal. Greenleaf Farms also offered for sale marijuana “blunts,” which were offered in various THC concentrations.

The products lacked a variety of required warning statements and labels, and do not appear to be produced by licensed facilities or tested in accordance with state law.

Further, Greenleaf Farms represented itself as a licensed dispensary in the sign shared below despite lacking such a license.

Smoker’s Corner

Smoker’s Corner is a smoke shop in Norwich with no license to sell cannabis products in Connecticut. During multiple visits, an investigator from the Office of the Attorney General observed illegal high-THC edibles for sale. Further, after the investigator asked if there was any “pot” available for purchase, a Smoker’s Corner employee retrieved a mason jar full of marijuana flower from a back room. The employee then weighed the marijuana on a scale, bagged it, and sold it to the Office of the Attorney General’s investigator. The cannabis products lacked required warnings and labels, did not appear to be produced by licensed facilities or tested in accordance with state law, according to Tong.

Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke

Anesthesia Convenience & Smoke is a smoke shop in New Haven that is not licensed to sell cannabis in Connecticut. On multiple unannounced visits, investigators from the Department of Consumer Protection and Office of the Attorney General observed thousands of high-THC products, including those more potent than any product available in the regulated cannabis market. Products included potent edibles, as well as marijuana flower. The cannabis products lacked required warnings and labels, did not appear to be produced by licensed facilities or tested in accordance with state law, according to Tong.

Planet Zaza

Planet Zaza is a smoke shop located in East Haven with no license to sell cannabis in Connecticut. Investigators with the Department of Consumer Protection and Office of the Attorney General inspected the store on multiple dates, finding numerous high-THC cannabis edibles for sale more potent than any authorized for sale in Connecticut.

Further, investigators discovered unauthorized labels, including fake prescription labels falsely indicating that the store is a licensed dispensary and that the illegal products were medical-use cannabis. The products did not appear to be produced in a licensed facility or tested in accordance with state law, according to Tong.

Wholesalers: RZ Smoke, Star Enterprise, and Shark Wholesale

Star Enterprise is a New Britain-based smoke and vape wholesale business. Shark Wholesale is based in Bridgeport. RZ Smoke is a New York-based smoke and vape wholesale business with a warehouse in Suffield. These wholesalers each supply illicit cannabis products to retailers throughout Connecticut. All three provide products packaged in a manner that deceives consumers into reasonably believing they are purchasing cannabis products from Connecticut’s legal, regulated market. In fact, each wholesaler offered highly potent products far in excess of allowable serving sizes and THC levels.

Star’s products contained THC levels 35-times the maximum permissible in Connecticut’s regulated cannabis market, as well as serving sizes at least five times the maximum allowed. Further, the packages were labeled in such a way as to appeal to youth, including brand names and packaging identical or similar to non-cannabis snacks. Shark’s products contained THC levels 15-times the maximum limit, and serving sizes six times the maximum legal serving size. RZ Smoke’s products contained THC levels 10-times the maximum allowed, with serving sizes five times over the legal limit. Their products were also designed to mimic existing names and packaging of non-cannabis snacks, according to Tong.

Ongoing Cannabis Enforcement Actions

“Today’s filings follow a series of enforcement and educational actions taken by Attorney General Tong to combat the sale of illegal cannabis in Connecticut, including high-THC delta-8 and delta-9 edibles. Last year, Attorney General Tong sent warning letters to all Connecticut licensed retailers of electronic vaping products advising them that sale of delta-8 THC by unlicensed retailers may be illegal,” the release states.

The Office of the Attorney General now has 10 pending enforcement actions, and has secured judgments against four additional Connecticut retailers totaling $40,000 for alleged violations of the Connecticut Unfair Trade Practices Act over the sale of illegal delta-8 THC products.
A portion of the payments will be suspended if the retailers comply with terms of the judgment, including ceasing all sales of illegal cannabis. Additional investigations are active and ongoing. Last week, Tong issued a cease and desist letter to HighBazaar organizers that its unlicensed cannabis marketplace appears to violate multiple state statutes. An additional letter was sent to the Masonic Temple Day Spring Lodge in Hamden, which currently hosts the market, according to Tong.
January 11, 2024
Filtrona Launches Cannabis Division, Cannatrona

Filtrona has launched Cannatrona, a dedicated division serving the cannabis and hemp market.
The Cannatrona business supplies filter tips, mouthpieces and pre-roll solutions for cannabis and hemp products, alongside scientific services.
“The cannabis and hemp industry is seeing rapid expansion, but the regulatory landscape is also shifting at speed,” said Filtrona CEO Robert Pye in a statement. “What businesses in this field need is a partner with a proven track record of quality, innovation, brand development and compliance, and that’s exactly what Cannatrona offers. With the company’s launch, we’re looking to propel the sector to even greater heights in a transformative and meaningful way.”
“In any growing market, new businesses can be found all along the supply chain,” said Jeni Sperry, head of new business development at Cannatrona. “However, Cannatrona has something that the rest don’t, and that’s the century-long experience of Filtrona, one of the world’s leading special filter brands. For cannabis and hemp product innovators, we’re not just introducing filter tip and mouthpiece products to the market, we’re bringing expertise, innovation and a very bright future.”
December 1, 2023
Ohio Votes to Legalize Recreational Marijuana Sales

Credit: Adobe Photos
Ohio is the 24th U.S. state to allow adult marijuana use for non-medical purposes. Voters in the state approved a measure legalizing recreational marijuana on Tuesday, defying Republican legislative leaders who had failed to pass the proposed law.
“Marijuana is no longer a controversial issue,” said Tom Haren, spokesman for the Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol. “Ohioans demonstrated this by passing State Issue 2 in a landslide. Ohioans are being extremely clear on the future they want for our state: adult-use marijuana legal and regulated.”
The new law will allow adults 21 and over to buy and possess up to 2.5 ounces of cannabis and to grow plants at home. A 10 percent tax will be imposed on purchases, to be spent on administrative costs, addiction treatment, municipalities with dispensaries and social equity and jobs programs supporting the industry itself.
The election’s outcome represents a blow to GOP lawmakers, Republican Gov. Mike DeWine and business and manufacturing organizations concerned about its impact on workplace and traffic safety, according to the AP.
But as a citizen-initiated statute, the law is subject to change. Republicans who remain opposed to it in the Legislature are free to make tweaks to the law — or even repeal it, though the political stakes are higher now that the voters have approved it.
LeafLink, a large wholesale cannabis marketplace, commended Ohio residents on approving Issue 2 and urged lawmakers to promptly enact the law as passed.
“This vote presents a tremendous opportunity for the state where legal adult-use sales are projected to exceed $1 billion annually,” Policy Director Rodney Holcombe said in a statement. “This move puts Ohio in league with 23 other states that have taken this significant stride forward. We have witnessed firsthand the positive impact of legalized cannabis, including job creation, tax revenue for vital government services and unique business opportunities for entrepreneurs.”
November 8, 2023