United States: sniffable THC withdrawn from the market

Last week, many players in the North American cannabis industry took action following the announcement of the upcoming release of a new product called Canna Bumps, a white powder intended for snorting that contained 600 milligrams of THC.

Leafly's editor-in-chief, Bruce Barcott, has led the charge in his column «The Haymaker» to understand what was going on with this product, which seems to have been pulled from the market just as suddenly as it appeared. Here’s what the lawyer for THC Life, a manufacturer of THC-infused beverages that is reportedly behind the product, sent the following response to his questions, declining to comment further:

«A few months ago, our client was approached by a third party seeking to use our client’s proprietary formulations to create the Canna Bumps product. As soon as our client learned more about the product, they gauged the reactions of their own customers and those in the industry to assess what they thought of Canna Bumps. Due to its own concerns, those expressed by consumers, and the doubts raised by industry stakeholders, our client decided to terminate any license granted to a third party that would use its proprietary information to produce or market a product like Canna Bumps.»

Was this product legal?

Setting aside purely personal considerations about whether it’s appropriate to have a THC-based product that can be snorted, the real question is how this product legally made its way onto the market. If California hasn’t established regulations for this type of product, does that make it illegal?

Before it was removed, the product description stated that each 10 mg «Bump» contained 2 mg of THC. What was the rest made of?

For Bruce Barcott, the problem with Canna Bumps wasn’t so much the effects they might have on fully consenting adults, but rather the image that such products might give to the movement of cannabis legalization.

«Silly products like these are a constant feature of the prohibitionists» propaganda campaign,” he writes, comparing Canna Bumps to products that are dangerously appealing to children, such as the cannabis-infused versions of Sour Patch Kids, which are now illegal on regulated markets.

«Canna Bumps isn’t just a marketing pitch gone wrong,» Barcott continued. «It actively contributes to the risks and harm faced by millions of Americans every day [in the war on drugs.]»