A multi-state class action was filed in federal court in the Southern District of Illinois, seeking more than $5 million from hemp manufacturer Stiiizy Inc. for allegedly misrepresenting illegal marijuana products containing as much as 200% more tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) as the law allows.
The suit states that products containing THC levels greater than 0.3% are considered marijuana and do not qualify as legal Delta 8 hemp products under federal, Illinois and Missouri laws. Stiiizy allegedly deceives consumers and bypasses cannabis regulations by misrepresenting the amount of active THC in its products, including Delta 8 vape pens and edibles.
“As one of the nation’s largest cannabis product manufacturers, Stiiizy is well-aware of the THC requirements for all types of products, including Delta 8, CBD, and traditional cannabis, yet is willfully disobeying those requirements for its own profit and to the detriment of consumers,” the suit states.
St. Louis attorney Jamie L. Boyer filed the proposed class action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois on behalf of plaintiffs Taylor Byron and Taylor Berry against Stiiizy Inc. The suit accuses the defendant of violating the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act, violating the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, fraud, negligent misrepresentation, and unjust enrichment.
According to the complaint, Byron and Berry purchased a Delta 8 Stiiizy Starter Pack on Feb. 16. Byron purchased the product at Vape X in Swansea, and Berry purchased it at Green Dragon CBD in Chesterfield, Mo. They claim they relied upon the accuracy of the product’s labeling, including the percentage of active THC in the product.
“Plaintiffs represent the thousands of consumers in Illinois and Missouri who purchased Stiiizy’s D8 Products based upon the misrepresentations being made in Stiiizy’s advertising, labeling, and packaging,” the suit states. “The Delta 8 market is a multi-million dollar industry and is growing exponentially each year in terms of both customers and profits.”
The plaintiffs claim they would not have purchased the D8 products if Stiiizy had not misrepresented the level of active THC.
Congress passed the Agriculture Improvement Act, commonly known as the 2018 Farm Bill, authorizing the production of Cannabis sativa L, or hemp, and removing hemp and hemp seeds from the Drug Enforcement Administration’s list of controlled substances. Prior to the Farm Bill, the domestic production of hemp was limited to individuals registered under the Controlled Substances Act to grow marijuana.
Under the bill, “hemp” refers to any part of the Cannabis sativa L. plant, including the seeds and all derivatives, extracts, cannabinoids, isomers, acids, salts, and salts of isomers with a delta-9 THC concentration of not more than 0.3 percent on a dry weight basis. This type of hemp is referred to as “Delta 8 THC.”
Cannabis with a THC level exceeding 0.3 percent is still considered marijuana, but remains a controlled substance under the Controlled Substances Act.
Following the 2018 Farm Bill, the sales in hemp-based products increased steadily with the U.S. hemp market estimated between $1 billion and $2.2 billion with revenues expected to rise, the suit states. Additionally, the public interest in Delta 8 THC “increased rapidly.”
“Researchers studying the spike in interest determined the global rate of interest searches for Delta 8 THC was stable between 2011 and 2019, then rose by 257% from 2019 and 2020 and by another 705% from 2020 to 2021,” the suit states.
“Wary of this drastic rise in popularity, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cautioned consumers against Delta 8 THC products, noting they ‘have not been evaluated or approved by the FDA for safe use in any context,’ and ‘they may be marketed in ways that put the public health at risk and should especially be kept out of reach of children and pets,’” it continues.
The plaintiffs claim Stiiizy intentionally misrepresents to consumers that its D8 products are legal hemp products containing less than 0.3% of active THC via product labels, packaging, and advertisements.
“Stiiizy D8 products lack any of the protections afforded consumers as a result of the licensing, testing, labeling, warning, and advertising restrictions applicable to cannabis products, meaning consumers are being placed at increased health, safety, and medical risk by Stiiizy D8 Products that are, in fact, a controlled substance,” the suit states.
According to the complaint, a laboratory test performed on the Stiiizy Skywalker OG Pen D8 showed that the product contained 3.57% of Delta-9 THC.
“Stiiizy D8 products contain enough active THC that they qualify as cannabis under the 2018 Farm Bill, federal CSA, IL CRTA, Missouri Constitution, USDA regulations, and state enforcement agency regulations,” the suit states.
Attorney Boyer seeks to certify Illinois and Missouri classes, including anyone “who bought one or more of the same or similar D8 products” purchased by Byron and Berry.
She seeks an order requiring Stiiizy to cease its alleged wrongful conduct, requiring it to refund the class members of the funds they paid for the products, and enjoining the defendant from continuing to misrepresent and conceal material information about the D8 products.
Boyer also seeks compensatory damages as well as actual, treble, punitive, or statutory damages for injuries suffered by the class members, plus attorney’s fees and all other costs deemed appropriate.
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois case number 3:24-cv-1082