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.
Read more at The Denver Gazzette