Federal Lawsuit Blames Curaleaf for Death From Undisclosed Amounts of THC in Its CBD Drops

A negligent death lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in Oregon on Jan. 1 against Curaleaf, the Massachusetts cannabis company that started in Portland, says its CBD oil contained THC that killed a 78-year-old man in eastern Oregon.

The lawsuit alleges that Curaleaf sold glasses of CBD oil to customers containing undisclosed amounts of THC and alleges that the plaintiff, Earl Jacobe, eventually died of complications after ingesting the CBD Select drops.

The lawsuit states that Jacobe took the drops in late August 2021. Shortly afterwards, according to the lawsuit, Jacobe, 78, fell ill.

“[He] he believed he would die and experienced stroke-like symptoms, and he experienced sudden numbness and weakness in his face, arm and leg, sudden confusion, difficulty speaking and difficulty speaking, difficulty seeing straight, problems with walking, dizziness, loss of balance. , and lack of coordination, ”says the lawsuit. “Mr. Jacobe turned pale, began to sweat profusely, and had to be taken to the emergency room on two separate occasions. Due to the negligence of the accused, Mr. Jacobe experienced constant psychosis, discomfort and anxiety, and interference with life’s activities. “

Jacobe, who lived in the Christmas Valley town of Lake County, died shortly after two months. The lawsuit alleges that the mislabeled drops were a “substantial factor” in his death. His family is requesting a jury trial.

“The defendant labeled, marketed, advertised and sold the drops of CBD Select consumed by Mr. Jacobe as cannabidiol (CBD), which does not produce intoxicating effects,” the lawsuit says. “Actually, the drops of CBD Select consumed by Mr. Jacobe contained tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), a psychoactive compound in cannabis that produces intoxicating effects.”

Curaleaf did not respond to WW’s request for comment.

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission initially recalled hundreds of drops of CBD made by Cura Cannabis (acquired by Curaleaf in 2020) in September. Shortly afterwards, the company removed bottles of the same brand of drops, but which allegedly contained THC. The OLCC found that the THC drops did not, in fact, contain THC, as claimed.

“The defendant was negligent in not enforcing the quality control standards of his products that would have detected THC in his CBD Select drops,” the lawsuit says. “The defendant was negligent in offering a contaminated product that contained a strange dangerous object that could cause unwanted damage and health consequences when consumed unintentionally.”

Michael Fuller, the lawyer who filed the lawsuit, has represented more than 10 plaintiffs who have accused Cura of selling CBD drops without labeling them properly, which has led to health issues. The company has claimed that the mislabeling was an unintentional mistake by a junior employee.

Fuller tells WW that nine of the 13 claims against CBD Drop Cure were resolved confidentially.

Curaleaf is no stranger to legal fights.

A class action lawsuit was filed against Cura in 2020 after it failed to disclose additives in thousands of its Select brand vape products. This class action lawsuit was also filed by Fuller. This resulted in a settlement of $ 500,000.

The lawsuit came just two days after Cura paid the maximum fine to the OLCC for failing to disclose the addition of botanical terpenes to vape oils, and at a time when non-marijuana-derived terpenes were not allowed in products due to the vape- brot of related respiratory disease in 2019. The OLCC also charged a $ 10,000 fine for “dishonest conduct.”

The company was founded in Portland in 2016, then called Cannabis Cure. In 2020, the day after the company paid its fine to the OLCC for mislabeling its vapors, it was acquired by Massachusetts-based Curaleaf. At the time, it was the most valued cannabis company in the state and sold to Curaleaf for less than $ 400 million (when the acquisition was announced, it was valued at more than $ 1 billion).