A national cannabis provider in Pennsylvania is suing 10 hemp distributors over a commercial scheme it says amounts to illegally selling marijuana outside the state's regulated medical system.
The complaint, filed Wednesday in Common Pleas Court in Philadelphia, was brought by three subsidiaries of the Scranton-based Jushi Inc., which operates 18 licensed stores in Pennsylvania. It alleges that unregulated wholesalers and smoke shops are engaging in an unfair trade practice: selling intoxicating marijuana products under the guise of hemp, in a state that allows legal sales only in medical dispensaries.
"The influx of these illegal products into unregulated retail channels directly undermines the Commonwealth's regulated medical marijuana program," the plaintiffs wrote. "This scheme grants [smoke shops] a substantial and unlawful economic advantage, shifts compliance burdens onto lawful operators, endangers public health, and destabilizes the regulated market."
The lawsuit cites findings from a July Inquirer investigation illustrating that unregulated hemp-derived products sold over the counter in Pennsylvania are often illegal and full of toxins.
Read more at The Philadelphia Inquirer
