Drew Dixon
More than 155,000 illegal hemp packages were rounded up from Florida stores as part of a state crackdown on the product regulations.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson announced on Monday that “Operation Safe Summer” is being conducted throughout the state to remove illegal hemp product packaging from retailers. The operation is an enforcement sweep of stores that sell hemp as well as manufacturers to make sure the products and packaging conform to standards that are designed to prevent children from acquiring the hemp.
“Operation Safe Summer” has been ongoing in the state, with officials monitoring retailers for five weeks. The first week alone resulted in the removal of 38,861 hemp packages from stores in the state. Week two saw an increase in that figure to 40,796, while week three ended up with 6,024 hemp packages seized.
The fourth week saw the biggest confiscation of illegal hemp packages, with 48,195 products removed from store shelves, and 22,056 packages were removed in week five.
The operations have totaled 155,932 illegal hemp packages removed from store shelves thus far.
“It should serve as a wake-up call to any businesses putting profits over the safety of our children and communities,” Simpson said in a news release Monday. “This is not a one-time sweep — we are committed to a sustained crackdown on these illegal products and will aggressively pursue bad actors until the hemp industry gets the message.”
The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services announced on April 3 and June 2 that officials would conduct spot checks in hemp retail establishments to ensure sales of hemp complied with Florida administrative code, which restricts packaging that targets children and requires packaging to be designed to prevent quick access to the products by children.
Simpson himself has worked with the Florida Legislature since 2023, helping to modify laws regarding hemp product packaging. Since July of that year, more than 800,000 illegal packaged products of hemp have been removed from Florida retailers for not following the regulations.
