State inspectors discovered nearly 200,000 hemp products illegally being marketed to children, with the state intervening to keep them off the shelves, said Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS) Commissioner Wilton Simpson.
The Department released photographs of the merchandise showing brightly colored products looking like candy that had been found at High Roller Private Label in Hollywood, according to a news release.
"The discovery of over 186,000 packages of hemp products targeting children serves as a stark reminder of the importance of protecting the safety and well-being of our communities — especially from euphoric, high-potency hemp products that can pose serious health risks when ingested by children," Simpson said in a statement.
"As we continue to navigate the evolving landscape of hemp and cannabinoid products, we remain steadfast in our mission to uphold the highest standards of safety and accountability."
FDACS inspectors issued stop-sale orders for 186,377 packages of hemp products. Simpson said a high number were "euphoric, high-potency products." Out of the more than 186,000 products, 644 packages contained synthetic cannabinoids, including "THC-O" and "HHCO," the press release said.
In the 2023 Legislative Session, the state beefed up laws to add age requirements for buying edible hemp products and banned marketing for those products targeting children.
"To enforce these law changes, the department conducted the largest ever inspection sweep of businesses selling hemp products in the summer of 2023," the agency said in a press release. "The sweep included inspections of more than 700 businesses in all 67 Florida counties and uncovered over 83,000 packages of hemp products, including euphoric, high-potency THC products, targeting children."
That's led to FDACS inspectors issuing stop-sale orders for more than 631,000 hemp products illegally targeting children and more than 420,000 packages containing illegal synthetic cannabinoids since July 2023, the agency said.
In Florida, the hemp industry is among the biggest in the nation.
High Roller Private Label did not immediately return a phone message left for comment.
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