The Oregonian | By Mike Rogoway | February 22, 2023
Marijuana giant Curaleaf has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a class-action lawsuit over a 2021 manufacturing blunder in which the company sold CBD wellness drops in Oregon that contained THC, the psychoactive ingredient in marijuana.
Several people reported alarming symptoms after taking the drops, sold under Curaleaf’s Select brand. CBD isn’t supposed to contain significant levels of any mind-altering substance, but the drops sold last year had a jumbo dose of THC, resulting in severe reactions and confusion. Some people were driving when they suffered the effects while others rushed to medical clinics.
Curaleaf settled 10 lawsuits in January from people who reported such effects, on undisclosed terms. In August, Curaleaf agreed to a $130,000 fine and 23-day suspension levied by Oregon marijuana regulators.
A wrongful death case related to the CBD case settled earlier this week, on confidential terms. Two other personal injury cases are pending.
The latest settlement, filed Thursday with U.S. District Court in Portland, covers anyone else who bought the mislabeled CBD drops. An estimated 500 people will receive payments between $150 and $200 apiece, depending on how many people file claims. It does not restrict consumers from filing separate personal injury claims.
Portland attorney Michael Fuller plans to seek a quarter of the settlement fund as compensation for representing the plaintiffs. Any unclaimed funds would go to the nonprofit organization Oregon Consumer Justice.
“The average cost of the product at issue was about $25, so consumers will get back 6 to 8 times their purchase price through our settlement,” Fuller said.
The class administrator will use state records, online notices, proofs of purchase and personal testaments to identify people who qualify, according to Fuller.
Curaleaf told regulators an employee at its Portland bottling plant confused two similar buckets that had nearly identical identification numbers, one containing THC and the other CBD. The Massachusetts-based company said it adopted new safety protocols after the mishap.
Curaleaf is one of the nation’s largest marijuana companies. It has made a series of labeling mistakes in New York, too, which Syracuse.com says has resulted in the company recalling tens of thousands of marijuana products.
