A major lawsuit filed by Mammoth Farms against Colorado's Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) has brought national attention to a growing public health crisis that cannabis industry leaders have been warning about for years.
The lawsuit, filed on March 10, 2025, alleges MED has failed in its regulatory duties by allowing dangerous synthetic THC products to flood Colorado's regulated market while ignoring credible reports of facilities producing contaminated products.
Mammoth Farms, the largest outdoor cannabis cultivation in Colorado, claims MED's inaction has created an uneven playing field that harms law-abiding businesses and puts public health at serious risk.
Tiffany Devitt, Chief of Regulatory Affairs at Groundwork Holdings and co-author of "The Great Hemp Hoax" white paper, explained the severity of the situation:
"Much of what's being sold as 'hemp' today isn't hemp at all — it's a cocktail of synthetic intoxicants and illicit THC masquerading as a natural, legal product. It's essentially the ultra-processed junk food of cannabis, but far more dangerous."
The lawsuit details how unscrupulous operators are circumventing Colorado's regulated cannabis system by selling synthetic or "converted" THC products contaminated with methylene chloride, a toxic industrial chemical banned for most uses by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that has been linked to serious health issues, including cancer. These products are falsely labeled as containing naturally derived THC from legal cannabis.
"We're not just seeing high-potency THC; we're seeing an influx of synthetic compounds with unknown health risks," Devitt noted. "Many of these substances are unregulated, untested, and more potent than anything found in nature."
The lawsuit alleges MED has failed on multiple fronts by:
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Not requiring testing that would identify mislabeled products
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Not testing for dangerous contaminants like methylene chloride
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Not implementing an effective system to track products through the supply chain
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Not consistently enforcing regulations against bad actors
Mammoth Farms claims that despite repeatedly alerting MED to these issues since 2023, including evidence of "ghost facilities" producing contaminated products, the agency has largely ignored these warnings while paradoxically targeting whistleblowers with retaliatory enforcement actions.
The case highlights the critical need for stronger enforcement against synthetic cannabinoids that threaten both public health and the legitimate cannabis industry. The lawsuit also underscores the importance of permanent legislative solutions to protect consumers from dangerous designer drugs masquerading as hemp products.
Source: Hemp Hoax