Sonoma County cannabis firm agrees to $300,000 settlement over advertised health claims

Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday that Cannacraft, a Santa Rosa-based cannabis company, has agreed to pay $250,000, plus $50,000 in restitution and investigation costs, to settle a civil case alleging the company made misleading claims about its products.

Those claims, the office stated, included claims that cannabidiol, a non-psychoactive cannabis element commonly known as CBD, could be therapeutic for many conditions, “including chronic pain, cancer, anxiety, diabetes, epilepsy, rheumatoid arthritis, PTSD, sleep disorders, alcoholism, cardiovascular disease, antibiotic-resistant infections, and neurological ailments.”

The district attorney’s office reached the settlement as a member of the California Food, Drug, and Medical Device Task Force, which also includes Alameda, Marin, Monterey, Napa, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta and Solano counties.

“The Sonoma County District Attorney’s Office is proud to be part of this important Task Force that protects consumers from false and misleading advertising in the sale of food, drugs and medical devices, including cannabis and CBD products,” stated Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch in the news release.

The complaint alleges that Cannacraft made representations regarding the efficacy of its Care By Design products on its website, cbd.org, “that were not supported by competent and reliable scientific evidence, including that, ‘Cannabidiol can change gene expression and remove beta amyloid plaque, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s, from brain cells,’” the district attorney’s office stated.

CannaCraft would be working to change its advertising and “stipulated to the judgment without admitting liability,” the office said.