FDA and FTC crack down on cannabis companies replicating snack products

The Food and Drug Administration joined forces with the Federal Trade Commission to issue a warning against cannabis companies that are selling products that copycat well-known food products like Doritos and Nerd Ropes.

The FTC outlined concerns in a cease-and-desist letter.

“Marketing edible THC products that can be easily mistaken by children for regular foods is reckless and illegal,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Companies must ensure that their products are marketed safely and responsibly, especially when it comes to protecting the well-being of children.”

The companies that received cautionary letters were Exclusive Hemp Farms and Etienne-DuBois of Henrico, Virginia; Dr. Smoke (aka Dr. S) of Kansas City, Missouri; Delta Munchies of Los Angeles, California; The Haunted Vapor Room of Franklin, New Jersey; Nikte’s Wholesale of Albuquerque, New Mexico, and North Carolina Hemp Exchange, (which does business as NC Hemp Shoppe) of Raleigh, North Carolina.

The products are a potential violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act, which prohibits ‘‘unfair or deceptive acts or practices in or affecting commerce.’’

According to the two agencies, the marketing the companies use could pose a great health risk for adults or children who mistake these products containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol for Doritos or Cheetos and eat them.

The FDA sent out a warning in 2022 after receiving over 125 reports of children and adults consuming these products. Ten of those reports specifically mentioned they were copycats of popular snack foods, the FDA said this week.

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FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Dr. Janet Woodcock said in the FDA statement this week that children are much more likely to fall victim to the replicated cannabis snacks.

“The products we are warning against intentionally mimic well-known snack food brands by using similar brand names, logos or pictures on packaging that consumers, especially children, may confuse with traditional snack foods. We’re also concerned that adults could unintentionally take them or take a higher dose than expected and suffer serious consequences. This risk is especially dangerous for those who are driving, working or have other responsibilities,” she said.

Those who have consumed these products have expressed adverse symptoms to the FDA such as vomiting, anxiety, hallucinations, tremor, dizziness, confusion and loss of consciousness.

The companies that were issued warnings have 15 working days to show that they have taken action in making changes to address the concerns noted by the FDA and FTC.

According to ABC News, a South Carolina company, Hemp Exchange, has removed the four specific products off its shelves and website that the FDA had requested it no longer sell.

“Our response was immediate and in full cooperation with the FDA’s request,” manager Diane R. Becker said. “We understood their concern about the packaging of those particular products and relayed their concerns to the vendor that sold the products to us. We did not manufacture any of the products.”