{"id":966,"date":"2021-09-07T14:43:51","date_gmt":"2021-09-07T14:43:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/wp-home\/?p=176795"},"modified":"2021-09-07T14:43:51","modified_gmt":"2021-09-07T14:43:51","slug":"delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/?p=966","title":{"rendered":"Delta-8 pirates are scamming consumers and legit brands\u2014and the feds don\u2019t care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <title>Delta-8 pirates are scamming consumers and legit brands\u2014and the feds don&#8217;t care | Leafly<\/title>     <!-- Quotes = strings--><!-- No quotes = boolean-->\t   <!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v15.9.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->                  <!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. --> <\/p>\n<p> <!-- BEGIN Sailthru Horizon Meta Information --><\/p>\n<p><!-- END Sailthru Horizon Meta Information -->  <!-- Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- End Google Publisher Tag --> <!-- Google Tag Manager --> <!-- End Google Tag Manager --> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat --><br \/>\n <!-- Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <!-- End Google Tag Manager (noscript) -->   <title>Leafly<\/title>     <title>Leafly \u00ae<\/title>                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              <title>Loading\u2026<\/title>     <\/p>\n<div class=\"bg-white fixed flex hidden inset-0 items-start md:h-auto md:items-center overflow-auto\" id=\"age-gate-container\">\n<div class=\"bg-white md:h-auto mx-auto p-lg text-sm w-full\" id=\"age-gate\">\n<p><label for=\"select-country\">Where are you from?<\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"age-gate__info\">\n<p><button class=\"button\" data-testid=\"age-gate-no-button\" id=\"tou-cancel\">no<\/button><button class=\"button ml-md\" data-testid=\"age-gate-yes-button\" id=\"tou-continue\">yes<\/button><\/p>\n<p><label class=\"checkbox__label my-xl\"><span class=\"text-xs\" id=\"remember-user-label\">Remember me for 30 days. <br \/>I confirm that this is not a shared device.<\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<p class=\"error error--underage hidden\">Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"hidden age-gate__loading\">Redirecting you to<span class=\"redirect-domain\"><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"text-xs mt-auto\">By accessing this site, you accept<br \/>\nthe <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"tou-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/terms-of-use\">Terms of Use<\/a><br \/>\nand <a class=\"py-xl\" data-testid=\"pp-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/info\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container my-xl\">\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col md:col-9\" id=\"article-content\">\n<p>In June, Leafly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/health\/we-bought-delta-8-thc-at-a-head-shop-heres-what-we-found\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">published an article<\/a> on delta-8 THC products purchased at a smoke shop in Oxnard, CA. Two of the three products turned out to be brandless packages of supposed delta-8 products, with no indication of where they came from. The featured image included a bag of copycat Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos infused with delta-8 THC.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>Officials at Delta-8 Oils released a statement: \u2018Please stop stealing our brand and our logo.\u2019<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>When Sam Slosburg saw the photo, he was shocked.<\/p>\n<p>Slosburg is the creative director of Delta 8 Oils in Camp Verde, AZ. He recognized a small sticker slapped onto the package of supposedly delta-8 THC-infused Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It was his own company\u2019s logo.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But the product wasn\u2019t from Delta 8 Oils. In fact, the seed-to-sale producer doesn\u2019t even make edibles. Nor does the company sell products outside Arizona.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/health\/we-bought-delta-8-thc-at-a-head-shop-heres-what-we-found\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>We bought delta-8 THC at a head shop. Here\u2019s what we found<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"577\" alt=\"image-of-sketchy-delta-8-product\" class=\"wp-image-171920 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-1.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Flamin\u2019 Hot Cheetos? Not so much. We bought this sketchy product at a head shop in California. The pirated packaging actually ripped off two legitimate brands: Cheetos and Delta 8 Oils. (Marissa Wenzke photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-don-t-buy-pirated-products\">Don\u2019t buy pirated products<\/h2>\n<p>Three days after the article came out, Delta 8 Oils <a href=\"https:\/\/www.delta8oils.com\/to-whom-it-may-concern-please-stop-stealing-our-brand-and-our-logo\/\">released a statement<\/a>: \u201cTo Whom It May Concern: Please Stop Stealing Our Brand and Our Logo.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is wrong on so many levels,\u201d the statement read. \u201cIf you see a product for sale with our logo outside a licensed Arizona dispensary, it ain\u2019t us.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The sticker bearing the Delta 8 Oils logo was placed on several edibles being sold at the Southern California smoke shop 500 miles away.&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What else was on the packs of chips and candies? Not a whole lot. There was no testing information, no information about the manufacturer, no product safety assurance whatsoever.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur license allows us to sell only in the state of Arizona, only to licensed (cannabis) dispensaries,\u201d Slosburg said. \u201cEverything we\u2019re doing is to be the trusted delta-8 source.\u201d About the fake Cheetos, Slosburg said: \u201cJust like anything, you probably don\u2019t want to put it in your body if you really don\u2019t know where it came from.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-can-businesses-protect-their-brands\">How can businesses protect their brands?<\/h2>\n<p>Delta 8 Oils is now pursuing state trademark protection, Slosburg said, but the company\u2019s legal team has told him a federal trademark is likely not possible. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>Federal trademark officials refuse to protect delta-8 products. That leaves legitimate companies with little recourse.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>As Leafly has learned, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is now handling delta-8 products the same way it\u2019s dealt with state-licensed cannabis for years. The USPTO prohibits businesses in these industries from trademarking their products.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cannabis companies have gotten around this obstacle in the past, at least in part, by seeking brand protection for ancillary products like lighters or clothing. That\u2019s about the best they can do currently, at least at the federal level, said Neil Juneja, a Seattle-based trademark attorney who specializes in cannabis law.<\/p>\n<p>But it\u2019s a tricky and far-from-foolproof process\u2014one even the biggest names in cannabis still struggle with.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-popular-brands-are-hit-hard\">Popular brands are hit hard<\/h2>\n<p>Brand theft is nothing new in the industry. Cookies, the highly regarded California-based cannabis brand, is especially popular among logo thieves, who wrap cut-rate, untested, and potentially toxic products in counterfeit \u201cCookies\u201d packaging and sell them on the illicit market.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Now, with the sudden popularity of delta-8 THC products, the logo thieves have invaded that space, too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And as Delta 8 Oils company officials discovered, stopping the scammers isn\u2019t easy. In fact, the federal government\u2019s trademark policies are encouraging pirate manufacturers to cheat delta-8 consumers nationwide\u2014and put the public\u2019s health at risk.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/strains-products\/top-100-marijuana-strains\" class=\"wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-single-inline-block leafly-inline-related-story\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"border border-deep-green-alt border-l-0 border-r-0 my-xl p-md font-bold\">\n<p>Related<\/p>\n<p>Leafly\u2019s 100 best cannabis strains of all time<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a> <\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-trademarks-protect-consumers-more-than-companies\">Trademarks protect consumers more than companies<\/h2>\n<p>Cannabis can only be legally sold through state-licensed dispensaries where the drug is legal. Delta-8 THC products, on the other hand, can be sitting on the shelf of just about any store, with the exception of a few states that have moved to ban it.&nbsp;(For more about the complicated legal status of delta-8, see Leafly\u2019s comprehensive <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/science-tech\/what-is-delta8-thc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">delta-8 guide.<\/a>) <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to look at the purpose of trademarks,\u201d Juneja said. \u201cThe purpose is not to protect companies. It\u2019s to protect consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s what we really need to tell consumers: You know this brand, you know this trademark, and you know the quality of the product coming from us,\u201d Juneja added.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe just don\u2019t have enough tools to enforce it in this gray market right now,\u201d he said, referring to the cannabis space.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s the consumer that hurts the most.\u201d <\/p>\n<div class=\"my-xxl wp-block-leafly-blocks-leafly-related-articles\">\n<p><h2>All about delta-8 THC<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"h-schedule-i-drug-products-can-t-be-trademarked\">Schedule I drug products can\u2019t be trademarked<\/h2>\n<p>Upon discovering the copycat logos earlier this summer, officials with Delta 8 Oils decided to apply for trademark protection from the state of Arizona. <\/p>\n<p>A state-authorized trademark would protect the company\u2019s logo at least within the borders of Arizona, giving the brand \u201ca small amount of protection,\u201d Slosburg said.&nbsp;And state trademarks are available in Arizona because cannabis is legal according to state law. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>State trademarks are available, but federal trademarks aren\u2019t. So pirates simply operate in other states.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But a federal trademark\u2014which would protect Delta 8 Oils against the copycats in California and elsewhere\u2014is a different story.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The main barrier to federal trademark protection is this: Any substance categorized as a Schedule I drug cannot be trademarked by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>CBD products can receive federal trademark protection, <a href=\"https:\/\/businesswest.com\/blog\/strategies-for-protecting-trademarks-used-on-cbd-products\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">with a few exceptions<\/a>, as the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uspto.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/documents\/Exam%20Guide%201-19.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">made clear in May 2019<\/a>. That\u2019s because CBD is not a Schedule I substance. When it\u2019s derived from hemp (cannabis with less than 0.3% delta-9 THC), CBD is federally legal.<\/p>\n<p>Delta-8 THC or simply \u201cdelta-8,\u201d has exploded in popularity in the past year because it appeared to be federally legalized, like CBD, through the language of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/115th-congress\/house-bill\/2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Agricultural Improvement Act of 2018<\/a>, also known as the 2018 farm bill. Infused into edibles and vape cartridges, it started surfacing in smoke shops and gas stations in hard-line prohibition states like Texas, and even in states like California where legal state-licensed weed is legal.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-but-are-delta-8-thc-products-really-schedule-i\">But are delta-8 THC products really Schedule I? <\/h2>\n<p>Many have read the 2018 farm bill language to mean that delta-8 THC is federally legal so long as it was derived from CBD that was itself derived from hemp. <\/p>\n<p>Production of delta-8 THC is a two-step process. CBD is first extracted from hemp, and then delta-8 THC is distilled from that CBD. This leads to a sort of \u201cfruit of the untainted tree\u201d legal argument, which holds that so long as each product in the processing chain is legal, the end product (delta-8 THC) must be legal too.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently moved to counter that argument.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-dea-s-july-2021-update\">DEA\u2019s July 2021 update<\/h2>\n<p>While delta-8 products continue to be sold in both licensed dispensaries and unlicensed stores nationwide, the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov\/schedules\/orangebook\/orangebook.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">federal agency\u2019s July 2021 guide<\/a> to drug classifications specifically lists it as a Schedule I drug\u2014treating it more like cannabis and traditional delta-9 THC, not CBD.<\/p>\n<p>Tetrahydrocannabinols, including delta-8 THC, are labeled as Schedule I controlled substances in the 102-page booklet. However, when we contacted the DEA, the agency reiterated that the proposed rule to categorize delta-8 as a Schedule 1 substance is not yet final (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/science-tech\/what-is-delta8-thc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">as we previously reported<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs DEA is currently undergoing the rulemaking process regarding the implementation of the Agriculture Improvement Act \u2026 we would be unable to comment on any impact in legality of tetrahydrocannabinols, delta-8 included, until the process is complete,\u201d a DEA spokesperson wrote in an email.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are in the process of reviewing thousands of comments and do not speculate on what could happen as a result,\u201d the email continued.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-trademark-office-is-making-the-call-on-its-own\">Trademark office is making the call on its own<\/h2>\n<p>So it appears delta-8 THC isn\u2019t a Schedule I substance\u2014yet.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Even so, officials at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office have apparently leaped to their own conclusions. They\u2019re already treating delta-8 products as if they are Schedule I substances. It\u2019s unclear on what authority they\u2019re basing that decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDelta-8 THC products are considered Schedule I drugs, so to that extent, what is in the TMEP applies,\u201d USPTO spokesperson Mandy Kraft wrote in an email, citing a manual from the agency that states Schedule I substances are subject to trademark application inquiries or outright refusal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The manual goes on to state that a refusal must be made if there\u2019s evidence that the product seeking trademark protection is federally illegal. Given what the USPTO has told us, that would be the case for delta-8 THC products\u2014if the DEA\u2019s proposed rule was actually in effect. But it isn\u2019t.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>There seems to be no recourse for companies like Delta 8 Oils that are trying to do the right thing and play by the rules. A delta-8 company applying for trademark protection could sue the USPTO in federal court, of course, but such an action would be costly and could take years to resolve.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, it appears that federal trademark protection is not in the cards for delta-8 THC manufacturers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>And that could have a major impact on product safety.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-how-the-trademark-office-rewards-thieves\">How the trademark office rewards thieves<\/h2>\n<p>Chemists and insiders in the cannabis industry have been sounding the alarm about the few, if any, regulations that govern sales of delta-8. As one cannabis scientist told <a href=\"https:\/\/cen.acs.org\/biological-chemistry\/natural-products\/Delta-8-THC-craze-concerns-chemists\/99\/i31\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chemistry and Engineering<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/cen.acs.org\/biological-chemistry\/natural-products\/Delta-8-THC-craze-concerns-chemists\/99\/i31\"> News<\/a> last month, products can contain \u201ca soup\u201d of potentially harmful byproducts and unknown compounds, depending on the chemical processes used.<\/p>\n<p>However, the DEA\u2019s proposal to categorize delta-8 as a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dea.gov\/drug-information\/drug-scheduling\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Schedule I controlled substance<\/a> would do little to help the situation\u2014at least when it comes to the federal trademarking process. That\u2019s because delta-8 companies now face the same issue state-licensed cannabis brands have faced for years: It\u2019s nearly impossible to protect their names and logos against copycat fraudsters.<\/p>\n<p>In other words, the federal government is allowing the legal sale of a product and then tying the hands of above-board companies\u2014who follow regulations and test their products\u2014when they try to protect their brands. <\/p>\n<p>In effect, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office is punishing delta-8 companies that respect consumers and rewarding companies that cheat them.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-common-counterfeit-cookies-pirated-as-cake-or-bake\">A common counterfeit: Cookies pirated as \u2018Cake\u2019 or \u2018Bake\u2019<\/h2>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" alt class=\"wp-image-134378 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-2.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>Real Cookies brand products with the company\u2019s distinctive \u201cC\u201d. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As counterfeit products spread, the responsibility for finding them and warning the public has fallen on media outlets, bloggers, and the industry itself. Sean Zadoorian, editor-in-chief of the vaping website <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaporvanity.com\/authors\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vapor Vanity<\/a>, said the brand that appears to get ripped off the most is Cookies, a giant in the legal state-licensed industry.<\/p>\n<p>Zadoorian said the biggest copycat is \u201cCake,\u201d a company-less packaging design <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/health\/we-bought-delta-8-thc-at-a-head-shop-heres-what-we-found\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Leafly came across<\/a> earlier this summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s mainly being sold in gas stations and whatnot, like convenience stores, retail shops,\u201d Zadoorian said. \u201cGenerally speaking, this \u2018brand\u2019 is on the street, and the logo, the branding and all that look very, very similar to Cookies\u2014but using the word \u2018cake.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s the biggest example we found,\u201d he said, citing other designs like <a href=\"https:\/\/fswholesaleus.com\/bake-delta-8-disposable-vapes-updating\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bake<\/a> that appear to mimic Cookies.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" alt=\"cake-brand-vape-cartridge\" class=\"wp-image-171899 has-ll lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=550 550w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=740 740w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care-3.jpg,compress&amp;w=1480 1480w\"><figcaption>The \u201cC\u201d mimics the Cookies logo. But this ain\u2019t Cookies\u2014not by a long shot. (Marissa Wenzke photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"h-a-workaround-tm-the-t-shirts-and-lighters\">A workaround: TM the t-shirts and lighters<\/h2>\n<p>Cookies has a reported worth of half a billion dollars, according to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/javierhasse\/2020\/09\/16\/berner\/?sh=383cadc3541d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Forbes<\/a> feature last year, with the company\u2019s flagship store in LA often bringing in up to $450,000 in a single day. But the company has more going for its brand protection than just a whole lot of money to hire lawyers. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote has-text-align-left\">\n<p>The popular brand Cookies found a workaround: Trademark the company\u2019s logo on t-shirts.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>It has protected its good name by acting early and doing exactly what most cannabis intellectual property lawyers advise: trademark other merchandise within the same brand.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis, so far, is the lone [legal] avenue cannabis businesspeople have to protect their products from pretenders and fakers\u2014and this is exactly what Berner (the rapper\/ entrepreneur behind Cookies) did in 2013, registering \u2018Cookies SF\u2019 as a trademarked maker of sweatshirts and T-shirts,\u201d reads a 2016 <a href=\"https:\/\/archives.sfweekly.com\/sanfrancisco\/news-cannabis-berner-cookies-cookies-sf-emerald-cup-wiz-khalifa-taylor-gang-fillmore-jacka\/Content?oid=4448230&amp;storyPage=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">SF Weekly<\/a> feature on the Bay Area company.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>But that hasn\u2019t stopped a whirlwind of potentially toxic counterfeits.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-feds-crack-down-on-counterfeit-vapes-after-deadly-outbreak\">Feds crack down on counterfeit vapes after deadly outbreak<\/h2>\n<p>Cookies was among the most widely mimicked brands <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/health\/tainted-vape-pens-sold-in-illegal-california-stores\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">on the illicit market in 2019<\/a>, at the height of the outbreak of vaping-related lung injuries that sickened <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/tobacco\/basic_information\/e-cigarettes\/severe-lung-disease.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">thousands of Americans and killed at least 68<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>These days, federal law enforcement seems to be taking better notice of counterfeit products that mimic Cookies and other big-name brands, which end up getting filled with potentially toxic materials on the street market.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen shipments come into the country \u2026 Customs does random checks. And as a result of a random check, they see some packages that look suspicious, or items that look suspicious,\u201d said Elliott Brown, an intellectual property attorney who represents Cookies in the company\u2019s trademark pursuits.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey will reach out to us and say, \u2018Hey, there\u2019s somebody here, trying to import several hundred products that we think may be counterfeit. Please let us know if they are counterfeit or authentic,\u2019\u201d continued Brown.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-customs-catching-fake-vape-imports\">Customs catching fake vape imports<\/h2>\n<p>Since the deadly outbreak in 2019, Customs agents have seized shipments of thousands of counterfeit vapes in cities such as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/newsroom\/local-media-release\/philadelphia-pittsburgh-cbp-officers-seize-nearly-half-million-dollars\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pittsburgh<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/newsroom\/local-media-release\/cbp-officers-chicago-capture-15-million-counterfeit-vaping-pens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Chicago<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbp.gov\/newsroom\/local-media-release\/cbp-atlanta-intercepts-counterfeit-vaping-pens\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Atlanta<\/a>, to name just a few over the past year.<\/p>\n<p>In April, the U.S. Department of Justice arrested 23-year-old Texas resident Christopher Andrew Reyes after the U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized a shipment of 2,400 vaping cartridges from China addressed to him, federal officials said. He faces up to three years in federal prison. The label?&nbsp;Fake \u201cCookies,\u201d according to federal officials.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe distribution of these black-market vaping devices is not only illegal, but could prove lethal to those who consume vape materials from unregulated sources,\u201d Homeland Security Special Agent Ryan L. Spradlin said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-ndtx\/pr\/man-pleads-guilty-selling-counterfeit-vapes\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement from the federal agency<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"h-what-did-it-take-for-feds-to-act-dozens-of-deaths\">What did it take for feds to act? Dozens of deaths<\/h2>\n<p>It appears federal agents started making mass seizures of counterfeits only after thousands of Americans suffered severe lung injuries, sometimes ending up hospitalized and hooked to ventilators.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a sad reality that may have been prevented if cannabis brand pirates weren\u2019t allowed to run free. And it\u2019s a problem that will now extend to the delta-8 industry as the USPTO also prohibits those companies from protecting their brands at a national level.<\/p>\n<div id=\"author-box\" class=\"p-lg my-xxl bg-white rounded border border-light-grey elevation-low\">\n<div class=\"mb-lg\"> <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care.jpg\" alt=\"Marissa Wenzke's Bio Image\" class=\"lazyload inline-block mr-md rounded-full border border-light-grey\"> <\/p>\n<p>Marissa Wenzke<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"text-sm\">Marissa Wenzke covers cannabis in Los Angeles for Leafly. She is a graduate of Columbia Journalism School and works as a digital news producer for KTLA newscasts.<\/p>\n<p> <a class=\"text-sm font-bold underline text-green\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/news\/author\/marissa-wenzke\">View Marissa Wenzke&#8217;s articles<\/a> <\/div>\n<div class=\"leafly-sailthru-signup p-lg my-xl bg-white rounded elevation-low border border-light-grey\">\n<p class=\"text-xs pt-lg\">By submitting this form, you will be subscribed to news and promotional emails from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\">Leafly<\/a> and you agree to Leafly&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/tos\">Terms of Service<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leafly.com\/company\/privacy-policy\">Privacy Policy<\/a>. You can unsubscribe from Leafly email messages anytime.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <!-- Chartbeat --> <!-- End Chartbeat -->  <!--\nPerformance optimized by W3 Total Cache. Learn more: https:\/\/www.boldgrid.com\/w3-total-cache\/ Served from: _ @ 2021-09-07 07:44:05 by W3 Total Cache\n--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Delta-8 pirates are scamming consumers and legit brands\u2014and the feds don&#8217;t care | Leafly Leafly Leafly \u00ae Loading\u2026 Where are you from? noyes Remember me for 30 days. I confirm that this is not a shared device. Darn! You&#8217;re not old enough to use Leafly. Redirecting you to By accessing this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. In June, Leafly published an article on delta-8 THC products purchased at a smoke shop in Oxnard, CA. Two of the three products turned out to be brandless packages of supposed delta-8 products, with no indication of where they&#8230; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-marijuana_information"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/delta-8-pirates-are-scamming-consumers-and-legit-brands-and-the-feds-dont-care.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thcinct.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}