A recent lawsuit filed by the Colorado Attorney General John Suthers resulted in a Consent Judgment that imposed the nation’s largest ever civil fine for selling spice products against a single store. Sang Leaming, owner of Tobacco King, was ordered to pay $100,000 for selling spice products that contained synthetic cannabinoids. Synthetic cannabinoids are illegal under Colorado state law. The products were deceptively labeled and no warnings about illegality or potential harm were provided to customers.
The lawsuit was filed after the Colorado Department of Revenue, Liquor & Tobacco Enforcement Division removed 1,049 containers of spice products from Tobacco King.
“Spice is a dangerous, volatile drug that is illegal, despite the claims of many store owners that it is not,” Suthers said. “My office will continue working with our law enforcement partners and the retail industry to remove spice from store shelves and prosecute peddlers of these products.”
The Colorado Attorney General’s office has filed four lawsuits this year against storeowners who falsely advertised and sold spice as legal and safe. The complaint against Tobacco King was filed under the Colorado Consumer Protection Act with the Boulder County District Court and was worked on by the Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Section and the Boulder District Attorney’s Office.