This proposed national consumer protection class action is brought against a number of Canadian cannabis companies who are alleged to have misrepresented the quantity of THC or CBD in their products. Canadian consumers who purchased such products may have either received lower quantities of THC or CBD than they contracted for or ended up with products with potentially substantially higher quantities, thus creating a danger to their health.
Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation (“Waddell Phillips”) and Calgary-based Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP (“SVR”) have launched a proposed national class action in Alberta against a number of Canadian cannabis companies alleged to have engaged in widespread mislabeling of the THC and CBD quantities in their cannabis products.
As alleged in the Statement of Claim (the “Claim”), the proposed representative plaintiff, Lisa Langevin (the “Plaintiff”), purchased a vial of cannabis oil in February 2020 from a Calgary-based cannabis store. She had no previous experience with cannabis and, after taking the dose recommended to her by an individual working at the store, failed to feel any noticeable effects. Over the course of a month, the Plaintiff tried the product three more times, each time with the same result, despite gradually increasing the dosage. When she told a friend of hers about her experience, her friend tried the product as well, and had no noticeable effects.
As further alleged in the Claim, The Plaintiff’s friend suspected that the cannabis product sold to the Plaintiff was defective and began investigating. She spoke with a colleague of hers who subsequently arranged to have the Plaintiff’s product tested at a lab. The results were surprising, with the cannabis oil apparently containing only 46% of the THC content listed on the bottle. Subsequently, another sample was obtained from the same lot number as the Plaintiff’s cannabis product. Testing on this sample revealed that the product apparently had 79% of the labeled amount of THC, suggesting remarkable variability between cannabis products from the same lot. Testing was completed on other cannabis products over the course of several months. Many of these samples showed similar results for other brands of cannabis products. Strikingly, several of these samples also revealed higher quantities of THC than what was listed on the product label.
On June 16, 2020, the Plaintiff commenced an action against a number of cannabis companies that are alleged to have mislabeled the THC in their cannabis products by more than 15%. The Claim alleges that the mislabeling is a pervasive problem in the Canadian cannabis industry and that the mislabeling is both a consumer protection issue and poses a risk of personal injury if more THC is consumed than intended.
The Plaintiff seeks, amongst other relief, recovery of damages and disgorgement of profits by the Defendants. The proposed class includes all Canadians who purchased cannabis products for recreational use after October 17, 2018 or after June 16, 2010 if the products were purchased for medicinal purposes.
There is no cost to you to participate in this proposed class actions. The lawyers are working on a contingency fee arrangement, and will only be paid from the proceeds of the litigation, if successful.
Contact us
If you purchased a cannabis product in Canada and believe that the product you purchased contained significantly more or significantly less THC or CBD then listed on the product label, we would love to hear from you. The most important information we need from you includes:
If you no longer have the original product or an original receipt, please provide us with as much detail as possible about when and where you purchased the product, and the approximate cost of the product.
All information you provide to us will be treated as privileged and confidential and will not be used for any purposes unrelated to this action. The information will be collected to assist in the prosecution of the action and in an effort to assist the proposed class members in obtaining recovery from the defendant cannabis companies.
Contact
Class counsel can also be reached by phone at:
Waddell Phillips Professional Corporation (“Waddell Phillips”) and Calgary-based Scott Venturo Rudakoff LLP (“SVR”) have launched a proposed national class action in Alberta against a number of Canadian cannabis companies alleged to have engaged in widespread mislabeling of the THC and CBD quantities in their cannabis products.
As alleged in the Statement of Claim (the “Claim”), the proposed representative plaintiff, Lisa Langevin (the “Plaintiff”), purchased a vial of cannabis oil in February 2020 from a Calgary-based cannabis store. She had no previous experience with cannabis and, after taking the dose recommended to her by an individual working at the store, failed to feel any noticeable effects. Over the course of a month, the Plaintiff tried the product three more times, each time with the same result, despite gradually increasing the dosage. When she told a friend of hers about her experience, her friend tried the product as well, and had no noticeable effects.
As further alleged in the Claim, The Plaintiff’s friend suspected that the cannabis product sold to the Plaintiff was defective and began investigating. She spoke with a colleague of hers who subsequently arranged to have the Plaintiff’s product tested at a lab. The results were surprising, with the cannabis oil apparently containing only 46% of the THC content listed on the bottle. Subsequently, another sample was obtained from the same lot number as the Plaintiff’s cannabis product. Testing on this sample revealed that the product apparently had 79% of the labeled amount of THC, suggesting remarkable variability between cannabis products from the same lot. Testing was completed on other cannabis products over the course of several months. Many of these samples showed similar results for other brands of cannabis products. Strikingly, several of these samples also revealed higher quantities of THC than what was listed on the product label.
On June 16, 2020, the Plaintiff commenced an action against a number of cannabis companies that are alleged to have mislabeled the THC in their cannabis products by more than 15%. The Claim alleges that the mislabeling is a pervasive problem in the Canadian cannabis industry and that the mislabeling is both a consumer protection issue and poses a risk of personal injury if more THC is consumed than intended.
The Plaintiff seeks, amongst other relief, recovery of damages and disgorgement of profits by the Defendants. The proposed class includes all Canadians who purchased cannabis products for recreational use after October 17, 2018 or after June 16, 2010 if the products were purchased for medicinal purposes.
There is no cost to you to participate in this proposed class actions. The lawyers are working on a contingency fee arrangement, and will only be paid from the proceeds of the litigation, if successful.
Contact us
If you purchased a cannabis product in Canada and believe that the product you purchased contained significantly more or significantly less THC or CBD then listed on the product label, we would love to hear from you. The most important information we need from you includes:
If you no longer have the original product or an original receipt, please provide us with as much detail as possible about when and where you purchased the product, and the approximate cost of the product.
All information you provide to us will be treated as privileged and confidential and will not be used for any purposes unrelated to this action. The information will be collected to assist in the prosecution of the action and in an effort to assist the proposed class members in obtaining recovery from the defendant cannabis companies.
Contact
Class counsel can also be reached by phone at:
The Statement of Claim was issued by the Alberta Court of Queen’s Bench on June 16, 2020 and was amended on December 4, 2020.
Additional updates will be posted as the class action progresses.
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Class counsel can also be reached by phone at:
A sampling of some of the news reporting on this class action: