It’s pretty commonplace for celebrities to endorse and promote pot products, as the landscape of the legal marijuana business has drastically changed over the years. Big names like Gene Simmons and Mike Tyson are some of the more recent celebs to have gotten in on the green rush, and that’s only scratching the surface. Rapper and former Pimp My Ride host Xzibit is another noteworthy name to consider when talking about prominent cannabis influencers, but apparently, his name could be tainted—literally.
Xzibit In Hot Water
According to a report by TMZ, rapper Xzibit has been sued for allegedly promoting THC oil tainted with pesticides.
The rapper, whose real name is Alvin Nathaniel Joiner, has been promoting Brass Knuckles THC Concentrate Vape Cartridges on his Instagram. While the rapper has endorsed the product as “COMPLETELY pesticide AND contaminate FREE,” apparently that hasn’t been the case.
In the lawsuit, Ignacio Lee, a man who claims to have bought the products solely because of Xzibit’s promotions, says the products contain detectable levels of pesticides.
Lee started buying the Candy Apple and Sour Diesel flavored products back in July 2016 and began feeling an array of symptoms starting in 2017. According to Lee, he began experiencing fatigue, headaches, nausea, chest pains, shortness of breath, wheezing and difficulty breathing—all which miraculously went away after he discontinued use of the products.
He then took the products to an independent lab to get tested, and the cartridges were found to be riddled with pesticides.
The class-action lawsuit contends that Xzibit’s social media posts were dishonest about the nature of the products. The suit, which is on behalf of all of those who have smoked Brass Knuckles cartridges, is seeking an undisclosed amount of financial compensation, as well as an order to cease Xzibit and other influencers from marketing the product as completely contaminant free.
Final Hit: Xzibit Sued for Allegedly Promoting THC Oil Tainted with Pesticides
It remains to be seen who comes out on top in this bizarre case, as this is a somewhat unprecedented lawsuit. While there have been instances of pesticide contamination in Seattle and California, there hasn’t necessarily been a case where a celebrity has been held accountable for the matter.
There have been a ton of instances in which THC vape oil cartridges have been found to be tainted with pesticides, but this remains more of an indictment on early, loosely regulated legal marijuana regimes than it does on particular companies. For example, during the 2017 Emerald Cup, 34 out of 39 cartridge entries were disqualified because of contamination.
The prevalence of contaminated weed has ushered in a whole new non-ancillary faction of the legal marijuana business—lab testing. While contamination is clearly still a factor, it is apparent that companies are attempting to do their due-diligence on the matter, especially considering the stringent regulations in weed-legal states. But it’s not a problem that’s going to be fixed overnight, as seen by the latest trials and tribulations of Xzibit.
