Packaging discovered at downtown Los Angeles businesses featured a variety of confectionery creations, each advertised as having a hint of THC.
The problem? The plastic containers had a counterfeit California marijuana seal, giving potential buyers the false impression that the products they contained had been approved by the state, officials said.
In total, the state's Unified Cannabis Enforcement Task Force seized more than 2.2 million illegal packages during an undercover operation targeting 11 businesses in the Toy District on July 17, according to state officials.
“California is committed to supporting our safe and legal cannabis market. We will not tolerate criminal activity that undermines the legal market, especially when it puts children at risk,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a statement. “This successful operation in the Toy District reinforces our commitment and sends a clear warning to criminals who choose to operate outside of the safest, legal industry.”
The operation targeted shops that manufacture and sell bulk packaging for use in black market cannabis, authorities said.
The packages seized in the raid were empty but were designed to mimic popular foods and candies, such as Sweet Tarts sour gummies and Twinkies adorned with colorful sprinkles, which officials said could make them appealing to children. Such packages would not be allowed in the legal marijuana market.
“One of the really important things about this operation is that it specifically targets packaging that just throws away all the trash. [state] “Standards go out the window and in turn, it threatens consumers and, quite frankly, it attracts young people,” said Nicole Elliott, director of the state Department of Cannabis Control.
The seized package is worth nearly $500,000, said Tamma Adamek, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Tax and Fee Administration.
In addition to the contraband packages, the task force also seized 31 banker’s boxes and trash bags filled with cannabis and 32 boxes and bags of unregulated cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Under state law, cannabis products must be labeled to ensure consumers know what they are buying and prevent products from being misused. Sellers must have child-resistant, resealable, opaque packaging if the product is an edible product. Approved products feature a marijuana leaf symbol and an exclamation point inside a triangle.
But the illegal marijuana market has caught on, and some are illegally using packaging with the label to sell products on the black market, said California Department of Tax and Fee Administration Director Nick Maduros.
“There are many counterfeit products in the state, making it even more difficult for consumers to know what they are buying and whether what they are buying has been legally produced, legally sold and has been tested,” Maduros said.
The proliferation of these products also negatively affects licensed companies that pay taxes and follow state regulations, he added.
To legally sell containers marked with the California seal, businesses must be licensed by the Department of Cannabis Control or have invoices from a cannabis business licensed by the department.
This undercover operation was the first by the task force to focus on cannabis packaging. The passage of Assembly Bill 1126, which went into effect this year, allows the state to seize such material.
“I think this is just the beginning of what we have to do to combat this problem,” Maduro said.
