Law360 covered a recent lawsuit filed by Rouda Feder Tietjen & McGuinn (RFTM) and co-counsel on behalf of a minor plaintiff alleging that cannabis vape company Stiiizy Inc. marketed and sold high-potency THC vape products to underage consumers without adequate warnings about serious mental health risks. This is the ninth case that RFTM has filed on behalf of minors and former users who experienced acute mental health crises, focused on addressing the marketing, design, and safety of high-potency cannabis vape products.
The complaint, filed in the Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles, alleges that the company designed, marketed, and distributed cannabis vape products with THC concentrations as high as 60 to 90 percent, using branding, packaging, and advertising featuring enticing flavors and youthful looking models that appealed to adolescents, while failing to warn consumers about the risk of cannabis-induced psychosis and other psychiatric harms.
June Bashant, who represents the plaintiff, spoke with Law360 about the case and the evolving nature of modern cannabis products. “This is not the cannabis flower of yesterday,” Bashant said. “We contend that THC vape pods are highly concentrated products with potency levels far beyond what consumers historically encountered, and that these products pose significant risks, especially to developing adolescent brains.”
According to the complaint, the plaintiff began using the company’s vape products as a minor and later experienced severe psychiatric symptoms requiring ongoing treatment.
