Marijuana company sued for not making customers high enough
A California cannabis company is being sued by two local consumers for allegedly lying about the potency of its products.
Jasper Centeno of Long Beach and Blake Wilson of Fresno filed a lawsuit in state court last week accusing DreamFields Brands of false advertising, intentional misrepresentation and unjust enrichment, among other charges.
At issue in the case is how much Tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, is contained in DreamFields' Jeeter pre-roll products. THC is the chemical found in cannabis that gives users a high.
DreamFields markets its products as having higher than average levels of THC, but an independent laboratory test found the pre-rolls do not have a higher concentration of the chemical, lawyers for Centeno and Wilson alleged. In one instance, a Jeeter product labeled as having a THC content of 46% was found to contain between 23% and 27%, the lawsuit states.
"Consumers are willing to pay more for cannabis products with higher THC content, and expect to pay less for cannabis products with lower THC content," attorney Christin Cho, who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
DreamFields did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuit also cites a cannabis review by Weed Week in which staff members had a range of marijuana products independently tested for their THC levels. The testing found that all Jeeter products had THC levels lower than that stated on their label. The complaint accuses DreamFields of exaggerating its products' THC levels in order to justify higher prices for customers.
Centeno and Wilson said they paid a "premium price" for Jeeter products and were overcharged, according to the filing. The suit, which is seeking class-action status, doesn't list how much the men paid for the cannabis products. The pair are suing for an undisclosed amount in damages.
Marjiuana companies in California are regulated by the state's Department of Cannabis Control. The agency issues dispensary licenses and determines what labels a company can place on products.
Cannabis is a multibillion-dollar business in the Golden State, which has the longest-standing legal marijuana legislation in the country. California topped the nation in marijuana sales last year at $5.7 billion, according to the Annual Marijuana Business Factbook.
