Consumer class action targets potency of cannabis products.

Byline: Pat Murphy

A North Andover woman who claims she was short-changed when she shelled out $16.98 for two packages of cannabidiol-laced gummies at a Haverhill convenience store in June is now seeking relief in court.

Marjorie Ahumada takes issue with the fact that the product label indicates each of the five gummies in the package contains approximately 15 mg of CBD. But Ahumada alleges that the CBD content in the gummies produced by defendant Global Widget LLC doing business as Hemp Bombs doesn't approach the 75 mg promised.

Moreover, Ahumada's class action claims that laboratory testing reveals the Florida company overstates the level of the chemical in its other products as well, including CBD E-Liquid, CBD Oil, CBD Capsules, CBD Pain Freeze, CBD Lollipops and CBD Syrup.

"Defendant misrepresents that the CBD Products have specific amounts of CBD when, in fact, the Products do not contain the amount of CBD as advertised and are instead grossly under-dosed," states the U.S. District Court complaint in Ahumada v. Global Widget.

Cannabidiol is a chemical compound found in the cannabis plant. CBD doesn't provide the "high" produced by its cousin tetrahydrocannabinol. Instead, people use CBD products hoping to obtain relief from pain, anxiety and depression without having to experience the mind-altering effects of marijuana.

According to the complaint, the misrepresentation of CBD content is a rampant problem in the multi-billion-dollar CBD product market, with a 2017 study showing that less than a third of 84 products tested contained the amount of CBD advertised on their labels.

Jason M. Leviton, who represents the plaintiff, says the matter is a straightforward consumer suit alleging unfair and deceptive trade practices.

"Our case has almost nothing to do with cannabis or marijuana," Leviton says. "It comes down to a basic case of the defendant saying something about their product that appears to be untrue in order to induce somebody...