Illegal cannabis sold as hemp is found across Missouri, industry report shows

Retailers billing themselves as sellers of legal hemp products are instead selling highly intoxicating marijuana products, a recent report shows.

Officials working on the Missouri Hemp Hoax Report sent 55 products bought at smoke shops, gas stations and other retailers for testing. The test results showed that 96% of them were actually marijuana or synthetic THC — or tetrahydrocannabinol, the main ingredient in a cannabis plant that makes users feel high.

The 16-page Missouri Hemp Hoax Report, released by the Missouri Cannabis Trade Association, claims that hundreds of unregulated stores are selling potent, intoxicating marijuana products disguised as legal hemp. The report includes product test results, an interactive map of verified retailers and a list of stores statewide selling THC items outside the licensed system.

Andrew Mullins, the association’s executive director, said the findings show a widespread public health problem, especially for children. The report also highlights gaps in enforcement, despite state and federal laws that already prohibit unlicensed marijuana sales, he said.

“There’s no requirement for testing, no requirement for child-safe packaging and no restrictions on sales to minors,” Mullins said.

The report lists more than 400 stores across Missouri, including stores in Columbia, St. Louis, Kansas City, Independence, Springfield and smaller towns, that sell intoxicating THC products outside the state’s regulated cannabis program.

According to the report, 53 of the 55 tested products contained THC levels above the federal 0.3% hemp threshold, ranging from 11 milligrams to 5,000 milligrams per package. One vape cartridge purchased in Independence tested at 89.3% THC, nearly 300 times the federal hemp limit.

The products were purchased from smoke shops, CBD stores, gas stations and businesses marketing themselves as “dispensaries,” despite not holding state cannabis licenses, the organization said.

Missouri voters in 2022 legalized marijuana for recreational use, and set up a process for the sale of marijuana at dispensaries regulated by the state.

“These intoxicating products are completely unregulated,” association spokesperson Jack Cardetti said, referring to the products at gas stations and other businesses. “No one knows what’s actually in them, and consumers have no idea what they’re putting in their body.”

The report found that 29% of the samples contained contaminants such as pesticides, heavy metals or residual solvents.

Mullins said the organization began raising alarms as early as 2021, when intoxicating hemp-derived THC products began appearing in convenience stores and head shops shortly after Missouri’s medical marijuana program launched.

“As the most regulated industry in the state, we were looking around and saying these products look just like regulated cannabis, but they are being sold in unlicensed stores,” Mullins said.