Riverview smoke shop sold kratom and hemp products over legal THC and potency limits, records show

RIVERVIEW, FL. Back in February 2026, a state inspector walked into Cali's Smoke Shop, a hemp specialty retailer in Riverview, and found the store operating without a valid 2026 food permit, with proof of an approved water and sewer source nowhere on hand. A stop use order was immediately issued covering all processing and food service equipment and utensils on the premises.

That was only the beginning of what the February 25 inspection by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services documented.

What Inspectors Found

Inspectors found kratom products on the retail floor that exceeded the legal limit for 7-hydroxymitragynine, a potent alkaloid, according to product package labeling or certificates of analysis. Stop sale orders were issued for those products.

Additional kratom items did not declare the concentration of 7-hydroxymitragynine in parts per million on a dry-weight basis, as required under an emergency rule. That violation was marked repeat, meaning inspectors had cited the same problem at the shop before.

The labeling failures ran deeper. Various kratom products in capsule or tablet form lacked a supplement facts panel entirely. Others were not labeled with the name and location of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor. Stop sale orders were issued across those product lines as well. One partial correction was made during the visit: HEAT brand kratom tablets were relabeled after the manufacturer provided appropriate labeling documentation, and a stop sale order and release was issued for those specific items.

Hemp extract products drew their own set of orders. Inspectors cited products exceeding 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC concentration based on labeling or certificates of analysis, a violation of Florida law. Pre-packaged hemp extract products and slushies from dispensers were not in child-resistant packaging. Hemp extract products were found past their expiration dates.

The labeling gaps for hemp products were extensive. Various hemp extract items on the retail floor were missing one or more of the following: a scannable barcode or QR code linked to a certificate of analysis, a batch number, an expiration date, the number of milligrams of each marketed cannabinoid per serving, serving size, the name and place of business of the processor or distributor, net quantity, and ingredient lists. Stop sale orders covered all of them.

Some hemp products were also cited for containing color additives and for being designed in shapes attractive to children, including products and labels shaped like animals, humans, or cartoons. Both draw stop sale orders under Florida law.

Beyond the kratom and hemp product violations, inspectors flagged several products for containing ingredients listed as potentially poisonous or deleterious. The inspector noted that various products for human consumption contained Beta-Phenyl-GABA, Blue Lotus, or Amanita Muscaria. A kratom tea leaf product, the 1836 brand, contained Ashwagandha as an ingredient. Stop sale orders were issued.

A separate labeling violation covered Party Duck supplement tablets, which were not labeled from their source, and various mushroom products that listed only "Proprietary Blend" without naming the individual sub-ingredients.

No age restriction signage was posted for either kratom or hemp products, as required by law. The kratom sign requirement, like the labeling violation, was marked repeat.

Facility and Infrastructure Problems

The shop's physical infrastructure compounded the violations. The bar area had no handwashing sink. The register area, where hemp extract products were sold in bulk, had no handwashing sink either. The restroom handwashing sink did not provide hot water. A stop use order was issued covering all food processing and service equipment.

There was no three-compartment sink available for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment. No mop sink was available for disposing of mop water and similar liquid waste.

Staff knowledge gaps were also documented. The person in charge could not correctly answer questions relating to foodborne illness prevention. Employees had not been informed in a verifiable way of their responsibility to report health conditions to management. The establishment had no written procedures for responding to vomiting or diarrheal events.

The restroom door was not self-closing.

What These Violations Mean

Operating without a valid food permit means the state had not verified that the facility met basic health and safety requirements for the current year. The missing proof of an approved water and sewer source compounds that, because it removes any assurance that the water used in the facility for bulk product dispensing or cleaning comes from a tested, safe supply.

The potency violations on kratom and hemp products carry direct consumer health implications. Kratom products exceeding legal 7-hydroxymitragynine limits are considered to contain a controlled substance under Florida law, which is why those stop sale orders cited Chapter 893, the state's controlled substances statute. Consumers purchasing products that exceed those limits have no way of knowing what dose they are actually receiving.

Products labeled with cartoon or animal shapes, or containing color additives, are specifically prohibited under Florida hemp law because they are considered attractive to minors. The child-resistant packaging requirement exists for the same reason: to prevent accidental ingestion by children. At Cali's Smoke Shop, both sets of requirements were unmet, and stop sale orders covered those products.

The absence of handwashing sinks at the bar area and the register, combined with no documented employee health reporting agreements, creates conditions where basic contamination controls are absent for anyone handling bulk products sold for human consumption.

The Longer Record

The February inspection was designated a re-inspection, meaning state records show prior inspection activity at this facility. Two of the twenty violations were marked repeat citations, specifically the kratom labeling failure to declare 7-hydroxymitragynine concentration and the missing age restriction signage for kratom products. Both had been documented in at least one prior visit.

The repeat status on those two citations is significant. Labeling requirements for kratom products, including the potency declaration rule, were introduced under an emergency rule and gave retailers a clear compliance target. Finding the same deficiency a second time at Cali's Smoke Shop indicates the corrections were not made between inspections.

None of the twenty violations were corrected on site during the February 25 visit. The stop use order covering all food processing and service equipment remained in place at the close of the inspection.