Minnesota Sues to Halt Sales of FDA-Targeted “Death by Gummy Bears” Edibles

The state of Minnesota is suing three companies for selling edibles that contaim as much as 50 times the amount of THC allowed per package under state law, reports Minnesota Public Radio.

The Minnesota Board of Pharmacy which oversees cannabis for the state filed the lawsuit Monday, reports the Minnesota Reformer, alleging that Northland Vapor Moorhead, Northland Vapor Bemidji and Wonky Confections LLC are selling “Death by Gummy Bears” edibles that contain as much as 1000 milligrams of THC per serving, 20 times Minnesota’s legal limit.

The lawsuit alleges the owner of the companies, Brett Erpelding, stocked the non-compliant products in his Northland Vapor Moorhead, MN store and possesses more than 140,000 packages of illegal edibles in his warehouse. A second brand of edibles from Erpelding’s Wonky Confections LLC, Wonky Weeds, is said to also contain THC beyond what the law allows.

“Due to the sheer quantity and the seriousness of the products, we moved quickly to embargo,” Jill Phillips, the pharmacy board’s executive director, told reporters during a briefing on Monday.

In July, Minnesota amended its law to apply a 0.3% THC limit to all forms of hemp-derived THC, including Delta-8 extracts. The new law authorized the production of “edible cannabinoid products,” provided they do not contain more than 0.3% of any hemp-derived THC and they do not contain more than 5 mg of THC per serving or more than 50 mg of THC per package, according to Minnesota law firm Felhaber Larson.

Since their legalization in July, the board says it has received 46 complaints about edibles that have prompted investigations. The federal Food and Drug Administration first alerted the state board about “Death by Gummy Bears’s after reports of young people who becoming ill after consuming them. The FDA began investigating Erpelding’s companies after a healthy, 23-year-old in West Virginia died in October after consuming 10 Death by Gummy Bears brand items. The cause of death in the case is listed as undetermined.

The state wants the company to destroy the existing products, inform the state on where other products are sold in Minnesota and forbid the sale of the products in the future. While manufacturers and sellers of the THC edibles do not need to be licensed by the Board of Pharmacy to operate, the board alleges that Wonky Confections edibles were not tested for pesticides, heavy metals and solvents, as required by state law, reports the Minnesota Reformer.

“We take this conduct seriously and we look forward to continuing our work together to protect Minnesotans by holding bad actors accountable,” says Assistant Attorney General Hans Anderson, who filed the case on behalf of the Minnesota Board of Pharmacy.