Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser Shuts Down 1906 Cannabis Brands Over Undisclosed Health Risks

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Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser announced in a recent press release that a settlement had been reached involving the manufacturers and distributors of the 1906 brand of cannabis products, as well as Peter Barsoom, one of the co-founders. The settlement comes after an investigation was conducted and discovered that the companies “failed to disclose health risks associated with the products to consumers and misrepresented the products’ health benefits,” (1).

Companies involved in the settlement included Nuka Enterprises LLC, Sima Sciences LLC, and Nuka Properties LLC (1). The companies will need to pay $400,000 in fines to the state of Colorado and cease operations in the state as well. If these companies meet certain conditions, there is a chance that they may be granted to resume operations at a later time in the future. If the companies violate the terms from the settlement, they will be mandated to pay an additional fine of $600,000 to Colorado.

“Colorado’s cannabis regulations are the nationwide gold standard for protecting consumers, and the companies in this case broke the law by failing to disclose potential health risks from their products,” said Attorney General Weiser in the press release (1). “With this action, I am holding the companies and one of its co-founders accountable to ensure they face consequences for their deceptive business practices. I will continue to hold accountable those who evade Colorado’s cannabis and consumer protection laws.”

In Colorado, Sima Sciences LLC sold edible cannabis products that were called “Drops” between the period of 2016 to 2024. In the start of 2020, Sima Sciences LLC began receiving complaints regarding a specific product called “Midnight Drops.” Customers that expressed their complaints reported that the product was causing liver problems (1). Midnight drops were marketed as a sleep aid and the complaints began to outweigh the benefits the product was claiming (1).

The Colorado Department of Revenue’s (DOR) Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) issued public notices to raise awareness for consumers as reports of health issues stemming from these products accumulated (1).

In a June 2023 press release (3) from the DOR MED and CDPHE, it discussed how “1906 Midnight Drops produced prior to March 1, 2022, contained Corydalis rhizome extract. Information on the potential side effects of Corydalis is limited, but some available sources have connected Corydalis with liver injury. Tetrahydropalmatine (THP), an active ingredient in Corydalis extract, could be connected with the liver injury, but the exact cause remains unknown. Sima Sciences, LLC asserts that 1906 Midnight Drops produced on or after March 1, 2022 do not contain any Corydalis ingredient, but instead contain an extract of the plant Stephania which is primarily composed of THP, specifically the levo-tetrahydropalmatine (L-THP) isomer. Available information on the side effects of the Stephania extract is limited. MED and CDPHE have received reports of Adverse Health Events, including elevated liver enzymes that may indicate acute liver injury, that claim to be connected with the consumption of Midnight Drops produced after March 1, 2022, which presumably contain the Stephania extract containing L-THP.”

The settlement mentioned that “The 1906 Parties failed to disclose material information regarding adverse health events suffered by consumers of Midnight Drops and subsequently failed to take proper measures to remove Midnight Drops from dispensary shelves,” (3).

Following the investigation, the attorney general’s office discovered that these health problems that were being reported by customers, were known to the company as early as 2020 (1). Despite this knowledge, the products were still manufactured and distributed. The press release mentioned that (1), “Investigators also learned the companies did not perform adequate research on the herbal extracts Corydalis and Stephania, which their products contained at various times, failed to properly notify retailers of the problems so the products could be removed from shelves, and misrepresented the products’ health benefits.”

“Despite the March 2022 reformulation of Midnight Drops, the 1906 Parties failed to perform adequate research and development to confirm the safety of consuming Midnight Drops containing Stephania extract. They began receiving complaints from consumers regarding the reformulated version beginning in January 2023,” the settlement discussed (3).

References

1. Goldbaum, E. Cannabis companies to pay $400,000 fine, cease Colorado operations under settlement with attorney general Phil Weiser https://coag.gov/press-releases/attorney-general-phil-weiser-1906-settlement-9-19-25/ (accessed Sep 23, 2025).
2. 230601 informational notification RE_ adverse health events reported related to 1906 midnight Drops.pdf https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gcFV0t3FiOT3XEP2w8cMJNBQusx8GzLc/view (accessed Sep 23, 2025).
3. https://coag.gov/app/uploads/2025/09/2025.09.17-Fully-Executed-1906-AOD-1.pdf (accessed Sep 23, 2025).