Colorado Attorney General’s Office sues Colorado cannabis business for falsely marketing marijuana products as legal industrial hemp

June 18, 2024 (DENVER) – Attorney General Phil Weiser announced today that his office filed a lawsuit against Gee Distributors, LCC and its owner, Christopher Landon Eoff, after an investigation found Eoff’s company, doing business as CBDDY, illegally sold cannabis products marketed as federally legal industrial hemp even though the products contained up to 35 times higher THC levels than allowed by law. The lawsuit is the first industrial hemp enforcement action taken by the attorney general.

“Colorado’s legal cannabis regulations are designed to protect consumers, ensure the highest safety and quality standards, and keep cannabis out of the hands of kids,” said Weiser. “In this case, the defendant recklessly sold products that were, in some cases, more potent even than what is sold in state-licensed dispensaries with little regard for requirements like lab testing and age verification. As this action shows, we will hold accountable anyone who evades Colorado cannabis laws.”

In 2018, Congress legalized the limited manufacture and sale of consumable industrial hemp and defined it as containing no more than 0.3% of the psychoactive chemical Delta-9 THC. This policy change spurred an increase in industrial hemp companies attempting to evade state regulations and taxes that would apply to recreational marijuana.

State regulators combat this illegal conduct by requiring companies selling industrial hemp to test their products at one of 12 state-certified cannabis testing labs. The lab issues a certificate of analysis like those used for recreational and medical marijuana to give consumers valuable information about the content of those products. While legitimate industrial hemp businesses are not required to provide certificates of analysis to consumers, the failure to properly disclose the psychoactive content of these products can result in consumers experiencing unwanted intoxication, employment issues due to failed drug tests, or even unknowingly breaking the law.

According to the attorney general’s lawsuit filed in Weld County District Court on June 11, CBDDY, which was in Greeley and mostly operated online during the time the company was active in Colorado, sold edible cannabis products, smokeable cannabis flower, and high-THC concentrates to people in Colorado and across the country. Though the company claimed their products were industrial hemp, even going so far as to claim they were “100% compliant” with federal law, analysis of samples that investigators purchased from the company revealed THC content far higher than legal limits.

Adding to the company’s deceptive practices, investigators found CBDDY forged or altered certificates of analysis to misrepresent its products as legal. The investigation also revealed the company failed to properly verify the age of customers and made false and illegal claims of health benefits. Many of the company’s products are also improperly marketed in forms, flavors, and with imagery designed to appeal to children.

The attorney general is asking the court to bar the defendants from continuing to deceptively market their products, and to pay civil penalties and restitution for their repeated violations of the Colorado Consumer Protection Act. This case marks the first enforcement action under authority granted to the attorney general by the state legislature in 2022.

Consumers who believe companies are engaged in deceptive business practices are encouraged to file a complaint with the attorney general at StopFraudColorado.gov.