A Longmont company must pay a $75,000 fine for making unsubstantiated claims about the medical benefits of its cannabidiol, or CBD, products, according to a news release from the Federal Trade Commission.
Steve’s Distributing, which does business as Steve’s Goods, was among six sellers of products containing CBD that were targeted by the FTC for allegedly making a wide range of scientifically unsupported claims about the products’ ability to treat serious health conditions, including cancer, heart disease, hypertension, Alzheimer’s disease and others, the release states.
The FTC is requiring each of the companies, and individuals behind them, to immediately stop making such unsupported health claims, and several will pay monetary judgments to the agency, the release states. The orders settling the FTC complaints also bar the companies from similar deceptive practices in the future, and require they have scientific evidence to support any health claims they make for CBD and other products, according to the release.
“The six settlements announced today send a clear message to the burgeoning CBD industry: ‘Don’t make spurious health claims that are unsupported by medical science,’” Andrew Smith, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated in the release. “Otherwise, don’t be surprised if you hear from the FTC.”
Owners of Steve’s Distributing couldn't be reached for comment Monday. But Jordan Turner, chief operating officer of Steve’s Goods, last week told Denver’s CBS4 News the FTC order was “random, overbearing, and lacking consistency.”
“I really resent the tone of the FTC on this,” Turner told CBS4. “I’ve never experienced a one-sided, heavy hammer like this. I think their intention was to put us out of business.”
The FTC crackdown, dubbed Operation CBDeceit, is part of the commission’s ongoing effort to protect consumers from false, deceptive, and misleading health claims made in advertisements on websites and through social media companies such as Twitter, the release stated.
The news release stated that Steve’s Goods, since beginning operations in 2018, has sold a variety of products containing both CBD and cannabigerol, or CBG, which, like CBD, is a non-psychoactive compound derived from hemp. The FTC alleges Steve’s Goods claimed its CBD and CBG products are effective alternatives to prescription medications and treat a wide range of diseases and serious health conditions, including Alzheimer’s disease, cancer and diabetes.
The complaint also alleges the Longmont company falsely claimed its CBD and CBG products have antibacterial properties, prevent or reduce the risk of heart attacks, strokes and other diseases, the news release states.
The proposed administrative order settling the FTC’s charges prohibits the respondents from making certain prevention, treatment, or safety claims about dietary supplements, foods and drugs, unless they have the human clinical testing to substantiate the claims, according to the release.
“More broadly, it requires them to have competent and reliable scientific evidence when making any other health-related product claims,” the release states.
Chief operating officer Turner told CBS4 his predecessor, James Rowland, referenced CBD as a possible solution to serious medical conditions in a blog posted about a year ago. But, he argued, the well-sourced blog tried to offer CBD products as an alternative only and did not ever attempt to dissuade anyone from using known treatments or cures.
“I disagree with what they call advertising,” Turner told the television station. “We’re not speaking the same language here in the legalese. It just so happens you can talk about that kind of thing (serious medical conditions) but not mention your product.”
