STARKE, FL. Back in January 2026, state inspectors walked into Discount Smoke And Vape, a hemp specialty shop in Starke, and found kratom products on the shelves with 7-Hydroxymitragynine concentrations above the legal limit, a compound so tightly regulated under Florida emergency rules that its concentration must be disclosed to the parts-per-million on every label.
The inspector documented it plainly: "Kratom products offered for retail sale observed to have 7-Hydroxymitragynine concentration at level above the legal limit." A stop sale order was issued on the spot.
That was one finding among 34 violations cited during the January 22 inspection, a re-inspection triggered because the shop had been operating without a valid food permit.
What Inspectors Found on the Shelves
Zero violations were corrected on site. Two were marked repeat findings from a prior inspection.
The kratom violations alone filled pages of the inspection report. More than 60 individual kratom products, including multiple lines from O.P.M.S., Remarkable Herbs, Whole Herbs, Naturaleaf, and MIT45, were cited for missing the required concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine on their labels, as mandated by Florida emergency rule 5KER25-6. The inspector listed them by name: White Maeng Da 504 Count Capsules, Bali Kratom Red Vein, Vietnam Kratom Green Vein, Thai Kratom, Malaysian Kratom, and dozens more.
It did not stop at labeling. The inspector found that kratom products were also missing the required name and location of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor, as well as nutrition and supplement facts panels. Stop sale orders were issued for those products as well.
Hemp extract products on the shelves carried their own set of problems. Inspectors found hemp products with delta-9 THC concentrations above the legal limit per their own product labels. The shop was also selling hemp extract containing THC-O, a synthetic cannabinoid. The inspector's note was direct: "Food Establishment offers hemp products for retail sale containing synthetic cannabinoid THC-O. Stop Sale Order issued."
Some of the hemp products were packaged in ways that state law explicitly prohibits. Inspectors found items designed to resemble jelly rings and peach rings, and products whose packaging was shaped like humans, cartoons, or animals. These are not technical violations. Florida law bans these formats specifically because they attract children.
Hemp pre-rolls were being opened and sold individually with no packaging at all, which the inspector documented as products "prepared/produced in insanitary conditions."
Beyond the controlled-substance findings, the shop was selling hemp and hemp extract products without expiration dates, without child-resistant packaging, without light-blocking containers, without scannable barcodes, without milligrams-per-serving disclosures, and without the name and address of the processor or distributor. Stop sale orders were issued across all of these categories.
There was no age-restriction sign posted for either kratom or hemp extract products at the time of the inspection, though both were corrected on site after the inspector noted the violations.
Operating Without a Permit, Again
The inspection was triggered in part because the shop was operating without a valid food permit, a violation marked as a repeat. Inspectors had documented the same problem before.
The second repeat violation involved packaged food not labeled as required under federal regulations, specifically that kratom products lacked the required net quantity of package contents. A stop sale order was issued for those products as well.
The shop had also been conducting what the records describe as "open processing," meaning food or supplement products were being handled or prepared without the required infrastructure. There was no certified food protection manager on site, no handwashing sink in the open processing area, no hot water to the facility or the employee restroom, and no employee health reporting policy in place.
The owner agreed during the inspection to cease open processing. Those items were marked corrected on site. The restroom, however, presented its own problems: no covered trash receptacle, no paper towels or hand-drying devices, a dirty toilet, and a door that did not self-close.
What These Violations Mean
The stop sale orders for controlled substances are the most serious findings in this inspection. Products containing 7-Hydroxymitragynine above the legal limit, or containing THC-O, are not just regulatory violations. They are products that Florida law classifies as controlled substances under Chapter 893. A customer purchasing those products had no way of knowing the concentration of an active compound that, at elevated levels, has been linked to adverse health events including respiratory depression.
The labeling failures compound the risk. When a kratom or hemp product is missing its manufacturer's name and address, its batch number, its expiration date, and its cannabinoid concentration per serving, there is no meaningful way for a consumer to evaluate what they are taking or at what dose. If someone experiences an adverse reaction, there is no traceability back to the source.
The child-appeal violations, products shaped like jelly rings and peach rings, products in cartoon-shaped packaging, are a separate and acute concern. These formats are banned because children cannot distinguish them from candy. Florida law requires hemp products to be in child-resistant packaging for the same reason. Neither requirement was being met.
The Longer Record
The January 22 inspection was classified as a re-inspection, meaning inspectors had already visited Discount Smoke And Vape and documented problems before this visit. The operating-without-a-permit violation was marked repeat, as was the federal labeling deficiency on kratom products.
A shop that returns to a re-inspection with the same foundational violation, no valid food permit, while also stocking products that Florida law classifies as controlled substances, presents a pattern that goes beyond administrative oversight. The permit violation had been cited before. The products with illegal concentrations were on the shelves anyway.
None of the 34 violations were corrected on site except for the two age-restriction signs and the agreement to stop open processing. The stop sale orders for controlled substances, adulterated products, unlabeled kratom, and non-compliant hemp packaging remained in place at the conclusion of the inspection.