RALEIGH, N.C. (WITN) – Thousands of {dollars} value of THC gummies and snacks that had been hidden by counterfeited manufacturers had been taken off North Carolina retailer cabinets across the state.

Trademark Enforcement Agents with the Secretary of State’s Office and the NC Anti-Counterfeiting Task Force labored with native authorities and different state regulation enforcement businesses on the coordinated effort to brush a complete estimated retail worth of $223,824 value of faux candies and snacks off retailer cabinets.

THC is the compound that provides marijuana its narcotic impact.

“This goes to the heart of our work to protect health and safety,” stated Secretary Elaine F. Marshall. “Earlier this year a 4-year-old boy in Virginia tragically died after eating THC-infused gummies, so the fact that so many of these products were counterfeiting brands geared toward kids is very troubling.”

Counterfeited manufacturers ranged from Skittles and Cheetos to Lifesavers and Girl Scout Cookies. The packaging on the THC edibles included markings indicating the snacks included THC, however Secretary Marshall notes that these markings may very well be simply ignored.

“When they’re packaged up in Skittles, that’s something every kid picks up and loves, or Kit Kat… these are all trademark violations,” Marshall says.

The snacks had been taken from quite a lot of institutions, from vape outlets to comfort shops and fuel stations, because of 23 search warrants and 30 consent searches.

Secretary of State Agents labored with authorities together with police departments in High Point, Roxboro, Belmont, Clayton, Gaston County, Jacksonville, Selma, Smithfield, Wake Forest, in addition to the Wake County Sheriff’s Office, the NC Alcohol and Law Enforcement Division, Asheville ABC Board Law Enforcement Division, the Consumer Brand Association, Vaudra International and Homeland Security.

“If kids aren’t at the reading age yet, they see something in, like a Kit Kat label, [it’s] recognizable, these big national brands, they’re recognizable, and if you can’t read it, they’ll see this and it looks like one thing, but it’s really something else,” Lt. Chris Funcke with the Jacksonville Police Department says.

Marshall says her workplace has been seeing an uptick in poison management calls.

The secretary of state says all outlets and shops all through the state have now gotten an official warning prohibiting the sale or distribution of counterfeit smoke or THC edible merchandise.

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