A cannabis company based in the San Luis Valley is suing Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division, alleging the agency has failed to uphold its statutory duty to protect consumers and prosecute bad actors.
The lawsuit, filed in Denver District Court on Monday by cultivator and manufacturer Mammoth Farms, accuses the division of ignoring companies that are diverting legal weed to illicit markets in other states, and punishing whistleblowers who try to raise concerns.
It also alleges the agency's marijuana tracking and testing protocols are insufficient to identify bad actors and allow potentially dangerous products to reach cannabis consumers. The Marijuana Enforcement Division does not comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson said by email Wednesday.
In its lawsuit, Mammoth Farms alleges that some licensed companies in Colorado are substituting hemp-derived tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) for marijuana in regulated products using methods that should get flagged by the state enforcement division. That's an issue because while both hemp and marijuana are cannabis plants, distinguished only by their cannabinoid content, they are regulated differently.
Read more at The Denver Post