John Schroyer
The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy filed a civil suit against a trio of cannabis edibles companies for selling overly potent and illegally manufactured products that resulted in several teenagers being taken to the hospital.
According to the Star Tribune, the board filed its lawsuit against Northland Vapor Company Moorhead, Northland Vapor Company Bemidji, and Wonky Confections, all of whom it says are responsible for selling infused gummy bears that contained more than 50 times the legal limit of THC.
A unique Minnesota law allows for THC-infused edibles to be sold by practically any retailer in the state, but the edibles must be derived from hemp – not marijuana – and can only contain a maximum of 50 milligrams of THC per package, with a 5 milligram-per-serving limit.
Products sold by the three companies, however, contained as much as 2,500 milligrams of THC, the lawsuit contends.
In addition, some of the products made and sold by the three companies violate a state ban on edibles that resemble traditional candies that could be marketed to children. Specifically, Northland Vapor’s “Death By Gummy Bears” was an egregious rulebreaker, a pharmacy board spokesperson said.
“This group of companies far exceeded those limits and did so in a type of product historically marketed to children,” Pharmacy Board Executive Director Jill Phillips said during a press conference, the Star Tribune reported.
Phillips said that five teens from Iowa became ill after eating some of the gummy bears, and two were admitted to the emergency room.
The Pharmacy Board has seized roughly $7 million worth of products from the three companies and is awaiting a court’s permission to destroy the inventory, the Star Tribune reported. The lawsuit also requests an injunction that would bar the three companies from making and selling illegal edibles.
