The Candy Shop Investigation - CBD Social Exposes Bad Hemp Industry Actors

The laws around hemp are changing, essentially sending our industry into a panic. While processors close on good farming companies, others are allowed to remain open and it’s the very same type of  distribution the government aims to prevent. 

Since the announcement of the hemp laws changing, the heart of the CBD industry is rallying together to not only better their services and fight for fair access, but to assist in research, investigations and audits of those on the market that are giving the industry a bad name. Natural Healthy is very active in the online community and has been blessed to become a part of something bigger.

In comes CBD Social, a group of active CBD business leaders, investigators, reviewers and more led by Aaron Daughdrill and Biochemist, JR Staley. Both have been a huge part of our community, often leading investigations into shady companies, attempting to contact companies to assist in doing it the right way, and reviewing brands without bias that they can or cannot recommend to the group. Aaron has done reviews of products from Cookies, to 3CHI, to numerous brands we have been exposed to. They have been a blessing when new brands sign up, as the first line of defense by asking if they’ve become experienced with them, and verifying labs and COAS. 

This is how we find ourselves at the Candy Shop Investigation. 

The Candy Shop is located at 2317 Pass Rd, Gulfport, MS 39501. The number of complaints is too high to ignore and has become a topic of discussion as one of the companies causing damage to the industry, and here’s why.

Copyright Infringement - Our sample was obtained at the aforementioned location and resembles a near exact replica of a bag of Skittles. Mars/Wrigley has to follow extensive laws when mass distributing and wouldn’t approve of the use of their products on one such as this which leads you open to legal repercussions and puts our industry in a bad light to bigger, more solidified industries that have a bigger pull. They are less likely to fight for us. Not to mention you’re confusing the customer into thinking they’re buying a Skittles product, which is not the case. 

Aaron did note that while the store is labelled as simply “Candy Shop” everything was “medicated” and they even had Kratom behind the counter.  

Who’s Responsible? - The biggest risk in our industry is to protect the customer. This means being able to track any product or batch that may bring a complaint. Each of our brands must be fully reputable and match some pretty basic criteria for our industry. Any brand we work with must have a Lab/COA per product and a private website with brand information is required. The manufacturing company must clearly state their address on their packaging and in some states, they are even required to have a QR Code that allows customers to access the labs or that product. It’s pretty extensive but it keeps our customers safe and believe it or not, is the bare minimum for a hemp/CBD company.

The Candy Shop didn’t have ANY proper documentation or chain of command in any way. You cannot even tell if it’s allegedly Delta 8 or Delta 9 which is important. Not only did the infringe on the copyright but the packaging had no website, no labs, no QR code, no COA, no distributer name on package, and no address. So if someone gets sick, there’s no one to call. This is a HUGE RED FLAG in our industry.

Basic Math - The math ain’t mathing here. Their label states 400mg of Delta, 20mg per serving. However there are about 25 pieces in the package, which would equate to 500mg, not 400mg. So how many milligrams are actually in it and milligrams of what? You can’t trust a label if the math is completely off. On the back of the label it says Delta THC Hemp at 

250mg which is just a random number thrown in there… and this is being sold at retail stores.

Targeting Children - We’ve been here before. Those in the vape industry recognize the behavior of pandering to kids. However hemp and CBD are medical and the people who use it need it, probably aren’t looking for it in this capacity. This is simply a way to get CBD and inevitably kratom, in the hands of our children. The industry as a whole cares a lot about children and their safety, and we wouldn’t stand for pandering to them when we know our industry already has its place without putting children at risk.  

It’s junk, there’s  no way of knowing where it’s coming from, who it’s coming from, what it is and how much of that is in it. It should be illegal and will soon be illegal. These are the types of businesses causing good hemp companies to panic because they refuse to follow the current laws in place, therefore making it harder for the rest of us dealing with bans and strict laws. Stores like this are an embarrassment to the hemp industry as a whole and together we urge Mississippi law to look into this further because there’s a lot of upset families. 

It goes without saying we CANNOT recommend the Candy Shop of Mississippi because it's putting our industry and our children in danger.  

This is not the first time the Candy Shop has been brought to questioning. According to the DEA, A former Biloxi City Councilman was sentenced to 72 months in prison for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a Schedule I controlled substance in August of 2024. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jonathan Buckner and Lee Smith. So who's running the company? 

Link to the Dea Investigation here.

Obviously, this investigation needs to be reopened!

Stay tuned for more from Natural Healthy & CBD Social!