Mislabeling is hella Misleading
Reposted with permission from @SHALWETOKE
Sally Alsworth of Oregon was fined $100,000 for mislabeling her cannabis tinctures.
Instead of writing the words “it is illegal to drive under the influence” Sally changed the label on her vials to read “do not drive under the influence.”
Although it seems like such a benign issue, a different use of words on cannabis products could cost you a fortune.
State agencies are really cracking down on mislabeling of cannabis products or of any misleading information that is being sold to the public.
In 2019, the Oregon-based company Cura was also ordered to pay $100,000 because they failed to disclose additives on the packaging of more than 186,000 vape products.
Oregon officials stated that the 2 additives that Cura failed to mention were the cause of 2 deaths resulting from a respiratory illness.
Cura moved quickly by trying to negotiate a settlement with the Oregon agency. A day later they sold their company to a Massachusetts firm for $400 million.
Sally on the other hand has argued that the Oregon agency is trying to track small businesses and penalize them to essentially force them out of the industry.
It’s hard to see her point because they fined her the same way as they did Cura. It’s just unfortunate that Cura is a huge company and she’s not so she’s going to suffer far more.
Sally’s other issue was that the label she attached to 35,000 vials were not securely attached and could be removed by a consumer very easily. This was enough for the Oregon agency to deem these products a danger to new consumers who were unfamiliar with proper dosing.
Further, they argued there were no instructions on the card stock on how to open and close the vial while keeping the cap attached to the card stock.
Additionally, there was no language on the cardstock stating how important it is to keep the vial with any remaining product attached to the card stock. This posed the issue that consumers wouldn’t be able to appreciate how important it is to keep the unlabeled vial attached to the cardstock and wouldn’t be able to use the opening and closing techniques of the vial
Sally argues that the mislabeling wasn’t intentional and that the Oregon agency had changed its rules leaving her unaware of the requirements.
Although Sally makes this argument, I believe that it’s still up to the cannabis company to be aware and up to date on any and all changes made to cannabis requirements. In the court of law, ignorance is of no defense.
I personally had a client a few months ago who was trying to be deceptive with their labeling stating that the product was “known to cure illnesses.” A misleading statement.
I had to come down really hard on them because they were trying to circumvent the rules completely even going so far as calling a dispensary right in front of me to see if they would take their illegal mislabeled products. In the shop’s own words they said “it’s up to the shop to decide if they are compliant.” Umm.. this is FACTUALLY WRONG, buddy!
I immediately jumped on the phone and told them how my client’s actions and the shops were illegal under the current regs and that the shop couldn’t just “make up their own rules” like that and that ultimately if things go south my client is going to get a knock on their door from the state agency for trying to be misleading as such.
Bottom line, follow the regulations completely and don’t try to be slick and cut corners. These state agencies have everything to gain while you on the other hand may have everything to lose especially since it’s still federally illegal.
This was my headline as a Correspondent on The State of Cannabis NewsHour: Your Daily Dose, exclusively on Clubhouse.
By: @SHALWETOKE
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