The FDA and FTC Issue Warning to Makers of Doweedos and Other Copycat Snack Products Containing THC
Two federal agencies issued warnings to five companies concerning the sale of food products that not only look too much like popular snack brands, but are also THC products, which regulators claim pose a risk to young children.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC) sent cease-and-desist letters to Hippy Mood, Earthly Helps, Shamrockshrooms.com, Mary Janes Bakery Co., LLC, and Life Leaf Medical CBD Center on 16 July. The letters detailed that these companies illegally sold “copycat food products containing delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace in violation of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act),” according to a press release from the FDA. A separate letter was sent to GrowGod LLC for the same FD&S Act violations.
The warnings are part of a larger joint effort between the FDA and FTC to crack down on companies selling these types of products. The agencies previously worked together when they issued warnings to six other companies in July 2023 for the same violations. Those companies no longer sell the products the FDA and FTC had identified.
“Inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it,” said FDA principal deputy commissioner Namandjé Bumpus. Accidentally eating or overconsumption of products containing delta-8 THC is a considerable health risk to consumer safety, Bumpus added.
Between 1 January 2021 and 31 May 2022, “national poison control centers handled 10,448 single substance exposure cases involving edible products containing THC, 77 percent of them for people 19 or younger,” CNN reported. From these instances, 65 percent were caused by unintended exposure to edible products containing THC, and 91 percent of those involved children.
The packaging from the companies is highly similar, and in at least one instance indistinguishable, from popular snack products, including chips, cookies, gummies, or other snacks. The similarities include the products’ coloring, brand names, logos, or imagery on the packaging. Images of the products can be viewed in the FDA's press release.
Speaking with CNN, a spokesperson for Earthly Hemps said the company had not sold Dr. Blaze THC Delta-8 Slushers, Doweedos Delta-8 Chips, or Delta-8 Weedos in 2024.
The letters informed the companies that they have 15 days to respond to the agencies, and that the responses should detail how they will address the violations and prevent them from happening again.
“Since the 2018 enactment of the Farm Bill, the U.S. hemp industry has experienced significant growth attributed to the cultivation of hemp plants with low THC levels and the production and sale of nonintoxicating compounds such as CBD,” a Forbes article noted.
But several businesses found and used a loophole in the Farm Bill, which allows for the sale of hemp-derived products that contain delta-8 THC and other psychoactive compounds. An amendment to the new Farm Bill would close that loophole, and disrupt what has become a multi-billion industry.
