Minnesota files lawsuit against several companies for illegally selling edibles

The state of Minnesota announced Monday that it is suing a trio of companies for alleged violations of the state’s edible cannabinoid laws, saying they sell products containing up to 50 times the legal amount of THC.

The lawsuit, filed by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, targets three companies, one of which, Northland Vapor — a company with retail locations in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota — allegedly “sold edible cannabinoid products containing well over five milligrams of THC per serving.” and well over 50 milligrams per pack.”

Under Minnesota state law, the Board of Pharmacy stated, “An edible cannabinoid product … may not contain more than five milligrams of a hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in any single serving, or more than 50 milligrams total per package.”

Agency investigators “found packets containing 2,500 milligrams of THC, 50 times the amount permitted by Minnesota law,” the board said.

Perhaps the most notable contraband uncovered in the investigation were thousands of packages of delta-8 THC products known as “Death by Gummy Bears.”

As stated by the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy, the “US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has received complaints of serious adverse events related to Northland Vapor’s delta-8-THC products, Death by Gummy Bears, including one death.”

Minnesota Public Radio reports that the board’s lawsuit “says that the companies’ owner, Brett Erpelding, admitted to investigators that they sold products that did not comply with Minnesota law, but claimed that the products were not sold in Minnesota.” became.”

“The Board of Pharmacy, along with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, has been investigating Erpelding’s company after the FDA was informed in October that a healthy 23-year-old died in West Virginia shortly after purchasing 10 Death by Gummy branded items Bears had consumed. The cause of death in the case was listed as undetermined,” Minnesota Public Radio reported.

Last month, on November 8, “the Board of Pharmacy and the FDA initiated an inspection of Northland Vapor’s manufacturing facility in Moorhead, Minn.,” the board said in its press release, noting that investigators “discovered edible cannabinoid products those for sale matched the companies’ websites and at their retail locations that violated state laws, including the following: Approximately 28,896 packages of Death by Gummy Bears labeled as 25 individual gummy bears containing 100 milligrams of THC per serving, totaling 2,500 milligrams per package ; Approximately 112,710 packs of Death by Gummy Bears, labeled as 10 individual gummy bears with 100 milligrams of THC per serving, totaling 1,000 milligrams per pack; Approximately 2,400 packets of Wonky Weeds Gummies, labeled as 10 individual gummies with 30 milligrams of THC per serving, totaling 300 milligrams per packet; and approximately 2,310 bottles of Wonky Weeds THC Syrup, containing 700 milligrams of THC per bottle.”

The state’s new edible law went into effect last summer, catching some lawmakers and residents unaware that Minnesota had effectively legalized recreational cannabis by surprise. The law has come under criticism for the lack of regulations and safeguards.

The state’s Democratic Gov. Tim Walz has long expressed his support for legalization, and now that he has secured his re-election — and now that Democrats have regained control of the state legislature — there is hope an even more robust cannabis law maybe soon in the land of 10,000 lakes.