The marijuana industry can be a shady place at times, which is something that I’ve stated over and over. There are more ‘snake oil salesmen’ in the marijuana industry right now than I can stand. There are also more haters in the industry that I think there is in any other industry. People, for various reasons, want to throw other people under the bus, stab people in the back, or in a lot of cases, want to blatantly rip off or bash other people in the industry to try to get ahead. A case that highlights my point is the recent media buzz and related lawsuit involving Medical Marijuana Inc..
You may have seen an article recently that called out multiple cannabis companies with CBD based products. Project CBD called out Medical Marijuana Inc., HempMeds, and Kannaway as being ‘Hemp Oil Hustlers.’ I encourage you to read the article so you can see what was published, do your own research, and draw your own conclusions. I have never tried any of those company’s products, so I’m not sure what the case is. I will say that I have seen a lot of critical social media posts about those companies from some very experience, reputable people in the industry, for what that’s worth. The article has resulted in Medical Marijuana Inc. filing a huge lawsuit, per Marijuana Business Daily:
Medical Marijuana Inc. has filed a lawsuit in California against several businesses – including a prominent cannabis testing lab – over statements made about its hemp-based products.
The publicly traded company is seeking at least $100 million in damages, saying the comments caused a huge dip in its stock price and hurt its reputation.
The suit comes just days after a CBD-focused website published an investigative report raising serious questions about the safety of hemp oil developed by Medical Marijuana Inc. and its subsidiary HempMeds. The report cites lab tests that reportedly revealed “significant levels of toxic solvents” in samples submitted by individuals who said they became sick after ingesting the products.
Medical Marijuana Inc. said the report “is based upon false, inaccurate and misleading statements.”
As I learned in several law courses I took in college, the ultimate defense in such a lawsuit is the truth. If the parties that are being sued made true statements, no matter how damaging, than they will win. If they embellished or made outright false statements, than they should be very worried. Have you purchased products from any of the companies named above? If so, how do you feel about them? Keep in mind, your comments will likely be read by those companies, and they have deep pockets, so proceed with caution.
