Missouri company at center of cananbis recall used hemp instead of marijuana in products

Missouri dispensary owners say they had no idea they were paying marijuana prices for a "synthetic" THC that had been converted from hemp. State regulators last month issued a product recall that pulled more than 60,000 items off the shelves.
Richard Batenburg Jr. feels deceived and cheated.

His cannabis brand, Colorado-based The Clear, has been partnering with a licensed Missouri manufacturer to produce pre-rolled joints. Some were infused with a THC concentrate, or distillate, purchased from a Robertsville-based company called Delta Extraction.

When the state issued a recall last month of all products made with the same distillate — a total of 62,000 products — Batenburg’s company was stuck with 90,000 joints taking up space in a Missouri warehouse that he still can’t do anything with.

But it’s not just the recall that got under his skin.