A California cannabis company has settled in a civil action regarding false advertising claims about its cannabidiol (CBD) products.
On Thursday, May 6, Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced a consumer protection false advertising law settlement against Cannacraft, Inc.
Deputy District Attorneys Matthew Cheever, Caroline Fowler, and David Kim prosecuted the case.
Under the settlement’s terms, Cannacraft must pay $250,000 in civil penalties, $25,000 in cy-près restitution, and $25,000 in investigative costs.
Sonoma-based Cannacraft will also be bound by an injunction for ten years.
“The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is proud to be part of this important Task Force that protects consumers from false and misleading advertising in the sale of food, drugs, and medical devices, including cannabis and CBD products,” says Ravitch. “We are committed to creating a level playing field in the licensed cannabis industry by treating it the same way as other industries, including prosecuting fair competition.”
A press release states that the Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office (SCDAO) reached the settlement as a member of the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force, which includes Alameda, Monterey, Marin, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, and Solano Counties.
The SCDAO filed the action on May 5, 2021, with Judge Thomas W. Willis entering the stipulated judgment.
The complaint centers around efficacy claims about Care by Design products at cbd.org that are unsubstantiated by competent and reliable scientific evidence.
“Cannabidiol can change gene expression and remove beta amyloid plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s from brain cells,” states one of the claims.
“Scientific and clinical studies have shown that CBD could be therapeutic for many conditions, including chronic pain, cancer, anxiety, diabetes, epilipsy, rheumatoid arthritis, PTSD, sleep disorders, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, antibiotic-resistant infections, and neurological ailments,” states another
According to the SCDAO, Cannacraft and its legal counsel were cooperative in implementing changes to its advertising and stipulated to the judgment without admitting to any liability.
The SCDAO previously obtained a stipulated judgment against Cannacraft in 2018 for $510,281 for environmental law violations surrounding the storage, handling, and disposal of hazardous materials used during product manufacturing.
