Cannacraft Settles False Advertising Claim For CBD Products
Cannacraft will pay $300,000 in total fines and fees
Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch announced a consumer protection False Advertising Law settlement in a civil action against Cannacraft, Inc. Cannacraft is a licensed cultivator and manufacturer of cannabis products based in Sonoma County, and does business in California’s legal cannabis market. Under the terms of the stipulated judgment, Cannacraft will pay $250,000 in civil penalties $25,000 in cy pres restitution, and $25,000 in investigative costs. Cannacraft also agreed to be bound by an injunction for 10 years. The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office reached the settlement as a member of the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force (“Task Force”), which also includes Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Solano Counties.
The action was filed in Monterey County Superior Court, and on May 5, 2021, the Honorable Thomas W. Wills entered the stipulated judgment. The complaint alleges that Cannacraft made representations regarding the efficacy of its Care By Design products on its internet website, www.cbd.org, that were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, including that, “Cannabidiol can change gene expression and remove beta amyloid plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s, from brain cells. And, “Scientific and clinical studies have shown that CBD could be therapeutic for many conditions, including chronic pain, cancer, anxiety, diabetes, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, PTSD, sleep disorders, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, antibiotic-resistant infections, and neurological ailments.”
District Attorney Ravitch stated “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. 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 unfair competition.”
Cannacraft and its counsel worked cooperatively to implement changes to its advertising, and stipulated to the judgment without admitting liability. The case was prosecuted by Deputy District Attorneys Matthew Cheever, Caroline Fowler and David Kim. The District Attorney’s Office previously obtained a stipulated judgment in the amount of $510,281 against Cannacraft in 2018 for environmental law violations related to its storage, handling and disposal of hazardous materials in its manufacturing process. That judgment included injunctive terms relating to the storage, treatment and handling of hazardous materials and training of employees.
