FDA, FTC Issue Warning Letters to Companies Selling “Copycat” Food Products Containing Delta-8 THC

In early July, FDA and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warning letters to six companies for illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (delta-8 THC). The agencies say that these products can be mistaken for traditional foods such as chips, cookies, candy, gummies, or other snack food items. The warning letters were issued to: Delta Munchies, Dr. Smoke (also known as Dr. S) Exclusive Hemp Farms/Oshipt, Nikte’s Wholesale, North Carolina Hemp Exchange, and The Haunted Vapor Room.

FDA is concerned that these products can be accidentally ingested by consumers, including children, or taken in higher doses than intended. “The products we are warning against intentionally mimic well-known snack food brands by using similar brand names, logos, or pictures on packaging that consumers, especially children, may confuse with traditional snack foods,” said Janet Woodcock, MD, FDA’s principal deputy commissioner, in a statement.

Delta-8 THC is a substance found in the cannabis sativa plant, of which marijuana and hemp are two varieties. It has psychoactive and intoxicating effects that may be dangerous to consumers and it has not been evaluated or approved by FDA for safe use in any context, including when added to food. FDA has received reports of serious adverse events experienced by people who have consumed these products, such as hallucinations, vomiting, tremor, anxiety, dizziness, confusion, and loss of consciousness. The agency is also concerned that companies are producing delta-8 THC in ways that could result in products with harmful contaminants. 

In June 2022, FDA warned consumers about the consumption of food products the drug. As noted in the warning, the agency received more than 125 adverse event reports from January 1, 2021, through May 31, 2022, related to children and adults who consumed edible products containing it. Ten of the reports specifically mention the edible product to be a copycat of popular snack foods.

These warning letters outline violations of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act related to adding delta-8 THC to conventional foods. FDA has requested written responses from the companies that received warning letters stating how they will address these violations and prevent their recurrence.