Federal authorities have warned six companies selling products containing intoxicating hemp-derived delta-8 THC in packaging that mimics popular snack-food brands to stop or face consequences.
But one of the companies told MJBizDaily that, in at least one instance, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Federal Trade Commission are going after select resellers – not the product-makers – while seemingly ignoring other sellers of the offending products.
‘Appealing to children’
In cease-and-desist letters mailed Monday but made public Tuesday, the FDA and FTC warned the six companies to stop selling the products or risk “legal action including, without limitation, seizure and injunction.”
The letters point out that the products contain delta-8 THC, and there “is no food additive regulation that authorizes” its use.
However, the FDA said it “is particularly concerned that your products are in forms (candy and chips) that are appealing to children, that mimic well-known snack food brands by using similar brand names, logos, or pictures on packaging, and that consumers may confuse with traditional foods,” the letters add.
According to the FDA and FTC, the companies that received warnings were:
- GrowGod
- Hippy Mood
- Earthly Hemps
- Life Leaf Medical CBD Center
- Mary Janes Bakery Co.
- Shamrockshrooms.com
Products containing delta-8 THC and other hemp-derived cannabinoids have grown increasingly popular since the 2018 Farm Bill, which legalized hemp production and sales nationwide.
Hemp advocates have since argued that the Farm Bill renders such products legal – a stance federal authorities do not endorse.
‘We are just resellers’
However, one of the companies to receive a letter – Levittown, Pennsylvania-based Hippy Mood – told MJBizDaily that it’s merely a reseller, not the product manufacturer.
Meanwhile, the product manufacturer appears to have avoided any such attention from authorities.
Hippy Mood removed the products from its website immediately after receiving the letter, owner Amy Romejko said via email Wednesday.
“We are just resellers, who purchase the products wholesale from a company out of California, who we have been purchasing from for over 4+ years,” she wrote.
Romejko said many other merchants carry products made by that California-based wholesaler, which she identified as Flame USA.
It’s unclear why “they didn’t get any warning letter, and the FTC only decided to only reach out to us, which is not fair,” Romejko added.
‘Unsafe’ and ‘appealing to children’
The latest batch of warning letters follow six sent to companies in July 2023.
All six of those companies halted the sale of offending products, the FDA said in its statement Tuesday.
The letters sent this week note that delta-8 THC is an “unsafe food additive” and that the companies are using packaging that mimics “well-known snack food brands,” which “are appealing to children.”
The two agencies have publicly warned against any packaging that could be mistaken for a mainstream food brand.
However, the agencies noted that delta-8 THC, which can be found in hemp but is often derived from CBD via a chemical synthesis, can’t be legally added to food products.
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
