FL Dept. of Agriculture cracks down on two hemp companies for marketing products to children

Photos taken by FDACS inspectors after uncovering 186,000 packages of hemp products allegedly designed to target children. (Photo courtesy FDACS)

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Florida Commissioner Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced Thursday that he was imposing “historic” sanctions on two hemp companies in Florida for manufacturing and selling hundreds of thousands of hemp-derived products that he alleged were labeled as attractive to children, a violation of a 2023 state law.

Simpson revoked for five years the food permit for Just Brands LLC, a Fort Lauderdale seller of hemp products, prohibiting the company from owning or operating any food establishment in Florida that requires a permit from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, the Department of Business and Professional Regulation, or the Department of Health.

Just Brands will reimburse the Department of Agriculture $60,500 for attorney fees and enforcement costs and will dismiss a lawsuit it filed against the agency last fall after officials issued stop-sales orders for hemp-derived products.

The department also announced that High Roller Private Label LLC of Hollywood, also a seller of hemp-derived products, will be barred from the manufacture, distribution, or sale of gummy hemp extract products in Florida for two years. The company will reimburse the department $5,000 for attorney fees and enforcement costs.

In a press release, Simpson emphasized that one of his responsibilities as agriculture commissioner is ensuring the safety of food and protecting consumers, especially children.

“These historic enforcement actions mark a significant step in our ongoing efforts to protect kids over profits and rein in the hemp industry in Florida,” he said.

“Prior to the changes made to Florida law in 2023, Florida’s hemp industry was out of control and products were being sold without restrictions, including allowing sales to children with marketing and packaging specifically targeting them. While I believe Florida’s laws need to be strengthened, make no mistake, we will use every inch of our current authority to protect Florida’s children from these products and go after those who violate the law.”

Simpson, elected in 2022 to lead the Department of Agriculture, held a news conference early in the 2023 legislative session to discuss legislation sponsored by Polk County Republican state Sen. Colleen Burton and Manatee County Republican state Rep. Will Robinson cracking down on hemp-derived products containing THC, as well as making it illegal to market and package such products to children.

Attractive to children

The original legislation included provisions to reduce the amount of THC – the compound in the plant associated with getting you high — allowed in retail hemp-derived products. But after intense opposition from the hemp industry, the final product essentially only prohibited hemp extract products from being sold to people under 21 years of age. The Legislature came back in its 2024 session to pass restrictions on intoxicating hemp-derived products that they failed approve in 2023, but Gov. Ron DeSantis vetoed that legislation .

In its press release, the department said it conducted a food inspection at a Just Brands facility on Oct. 31, 2023, and found violations, including the sale of hemp products attractive to children. Officials issued stop-sales orders for 215,154 products.

During a reinspection on Jan. 22, 2024, agents discovered that Just Brands had violated those orders by shipping the products to Chicago. Subsequent inspections on Jan. 29 and Feb. 5, 2024, confirmed the removal of the 215,154 packages from the facility without permission from the department. Officials said that between Dec. 6, 2023, and February 2024, Just Brands moved, sold, or used all the packages subject to the stop-sales orders without the department’s knowledge.

Regarding High Roller, the department says that on April 4, 2024, agents conducted a food inspection at one of its facilities and found more than 186,000 packages of hemp products deemed attractive to children. To prevent potential harm, the agency issued stop-sale orders for 186,377 packages of hemp products and 644 packages containing synthetic cannabinoids, specifically “THC-O” and “HHCO.”

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