Columbia, Missouri (KMIZ)
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey on Wednesday issued civil investigative demands against four Missouri companies.
Three of the companies were accused of using deceptive business practices to sell Delta 8 products.
Delta-8 is a compound found in the cannabis plant. Consumers can get high from delta-8, but its effects are not as strong as the delta-9 THC equivalent found in marijuana. It became legal in Missouri after the state passed House Bill 2034 in 2018. Missouri is currently one of 26 states where Delta 8 is not regulated. Delta-8 THC is sourced from hemp, not marijuana, so it is legal but unregulated at the federal level.
However, Delta 8 is illegal in 17 states and regulated in 7 states. Even though there are no regulations in Missouri, Bailey is considering Smoke Smart LLC of Wentzville. American Shaman Manufacturing, Inc. of Kansas City and his CBD Kratom Connect LLC of St. Louis marketed and sold these products to Missourians through illegal means.
Bailey cited the health risks that Delta-8 poses to children, and in a press release cited a post-St. Louis article detailing children who have been made ill by the product. The product was packaged as “Nards Rope Bites and Mad Monkey Sour Strawberry Premium Gummies,” according to the release.
Many of Delta 8’s edibles come in gummy form, which can easily be confused with candy. According to data from the National Toxic Substances Data System, calls to poison control centers for youth under the age of 5 who have not consumed marijuana or THC, the ingredient found in Delta-8, will increase in 2021, up from 207 in 2017. The number of cases increased to 3,054.
There is currently no legal age limit for purchasing a Delta-8 in Missouri. Many local pharmacies and gas stations that sell Delta 8 have imposed age restrictions of their own.
Last April, state Rep. Curtis Gregory (R-Marshall) introduced House Bill 1328, which would force the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services to regulate these products. The bill would also restrict all Delta 8 sales to DHSS-licensed pharmacies. The bill died in committee. However, the Missouri State Legislature is currently pushing to pass the Intoxicating Cannabinoid Regulation Act, which would classify and regulate intoxicating cannabinoid products as marijuana.
Regulating these products seems like a simple solution, but it could also impact small businesses across the state. Missouri law allows for 338 licenses for the sale, cultivation and processing of marijuana. These licenses are difficult to obtain due to the large number of applicants. Those looking to enter the lucrative cannabis industry but don’t have a license are turning to cannabis-derived THC products such as Delt-8.
Last year, Kevin Halderman, owner of Hemp Hemp Hooray and president of the Missouri Hemp Trade Association, argued that increased regulation could kill thousands of businesses.
“Removing these cannabinoids from the shelves along with several other mom-and-pop stores would effectively put me out of business. “This is not a regulation, it’s actually a ban on our industry. It’s effectively a federal ban,” Halderman told ABC 17 News last April. What they will do with the hemp-defined cannabinoids that the government has defined as legal is to redefine those in Missouri as marijuana. Redefining those products will remove them from our shelves. ”
ABC 17 News contacted the AG’s office to ask how the marketing of products that appear to be aimed at children violates the Missouri Commodity Exchange Act. The office responded that because the investigation is ongoing, it cannot comment beyond what is stated in the CID.
The CID requires companies to commit “deception, fraud, false promises, misrepresentation, misrepresentation, and/or concealment or suppression of material facts in connection with the sale or advertising of CBD, Delta-8, and Delta-8. , or made an omission.” 9THC products. ”
An employee at Hemp Hemp Hawley told ABC 17 News on Friday that some states, including Minnesota, have made it illegal to use cartoons and characters on Delta-8 products. The store tries to make it clear on the packaging that it is a THC product, but added that there is only so much it can do to differentiate it from regular candy.
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