St. Louis Smoke Shop Agrees to Stop Selling THC Edibles Mimicking Candy
Missouri AG forces St. Louis smoke shop to destroy inventory of THC edibles packaged as Skittles, Kit-Kats and other popular candy brands.
ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI — A St. Louis smoke shop has agreed to immediately cease operations and destroy all intoxicating THC products after Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway filed a lawsuit alleging the store violated state consumer protection laws by selling highly potent marijuana edibles packaged to look like popular candy brands.
Hanaway announced Wednesday that Pressure STL, located just south of downtown St. Louis, signed a voluntary compliance agreement to halt all operations and destroy its inventory of THC products that mimic well-known candy and snack brands.
“This is a win for Missouri consumers. Pressure STL made the right choice by ceasing operations and destroying its illicit THC products,” Hanaway said in a press release. “Missourians must remain vigilant against unlicensed dispensaries and deceptive marketing that targets our children.”
High-Potency Products Designed to Look Like Kids’ Candy
The smoke shop sold THC edibles packaged to look identical to popular candy brands, including a Skittles lookalike package where each piece of candy contained 20 milligrams of THC. The store’s online inventory also featured Kit-Kat and Snickers bars containing 1,000 milligrams of THC per bar, which the lawsuit described as an “extremely high dosage” for both adults and children.
To put those numbers in perspective, an entire THC seltzer can typically contains between 5 and 10 milligrams of THC. The candy bars sold by Pressure STL contained 100 to 200 times that amount.
According to the lawsuit filed in St. Louis Circuit Court in February, the shop also sold high-dose THC versions of other children’s favorite snacks, including Doritos, MilkyWay, Nerds, Chips Ahoy, Crunch and Sour Patch Kids.
Legal Action Forces Store Closure
The attorney general’s office filed the lawsuit alleging violations of Missouri’s consumer protection laws, specifically targeting the deceptive packaging that could easily fool both children and adults into thinking they were purchasing regular candy products.
The THC Skittles packages were being sold through the store’s online platform for $10 each, according to screenshots of the website included in court documents.
Under the terms of the voluntary compliance agreement, Pressure STL must immediately stop all sales of intoxicating products and destroy its remaining inventory. The agreement allows the store to avoid further legal proceedings while ensuring the problematic products are removed from the market.
Consumer Protection Concerns
The case highlights ongoing concerns about unregulated THC products that could pose risks to consumers, particularly children who might mistake the lookalike packaging for regular candy. Missouri’s legal marijuana market operates under strict regulations for licensed dispensaries, but hemp-derived THC products often fall into regulatory gray areas.
The attorney general’s office has indicated it will continue monitoring unlicensed dispensaries and retailers selling products with deceptive marketing practices that could endanger public safety, especially when those practices appear to target minors.
