TAMPA, FL. Back in March 2026, state inspectors walked into Smokey Moe's, a hemp specialty shop in Tampa, and found hemp extract products on the retail floor that exceeded the 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC concentration limit, the threshold above which a product crosses from legal hemp into controlled substance territory under Florida law.
The inspector's notes were direct: "Hemp Extract products observed to be over the 0.3% total delta 9 THC concentration according to product package labeling or Certificate of Analysis." Stop sale orders were issued on the spot.
That was one of 17 violations documented during the March 11 inspection, which was conducted as a product re-inspection tied to the shop operating without a valid 2026 food permit. Two of the violations were marked repeat, meaning inspectors had flagged the same problems before.
What Inspectors Found on the Shelves
The hemp extract violations went well beyond the THC threshold finding. Inspectors documented products in the retail area that were not in child-resistant packaging, not labeled with a scannable barcode or QR code linked to a certificate of analysis, missing batch numbers, missing expiration dates, and missing the number of milligrams of each cannabinoid per serving. Products were also missing serving size and servings-per-container information, and the name and place of business of the processor, packer, or distributor.
Products intended for inhalation were not labeled with the required statement "Not Intended For Ingestion, Do Not Eat." Inspectors also found hemp extract products with labels or packaging in the shape of animals, humans, or cartoons, a design format Florida law specifically prohibits because of its appeal to children.
In each of those cases, the inspector noted that products were voluntarily discarded and stop sale orders were issued and released.
Kratom and Other Products
The kratom section of the store generated its own set of violations. Inspectors found various kratom products in tablet form lacking a supplement facts panel on their packaging. Multiple products were also missing the name and address of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor.
The EASIE brand products were specifically cited for listing "Septavex Alkaloid" as a proprietary plant alkaloid without the required ingredient detail. EASIE products were voluntarily discarded. HEAT brand products were relabeled on site.
A separate kratom labeling requirement also went unmet. Florida's emergency rule requires that if the concentration of 7-Hydroxymitragynine, a potent kratom alkaloid, is below the method detection limit, the label must state the limit of detection. If the concentration is above the detection limit, the actual concentration must be stated in parts per million on a dry weight basis. The inspector found that requirement was not met across multiple products.
One kratom manufacturer cited in the inspection, identified as Easie GRP, had its address on product labels traced to a registered agent rather than an actual permitted food facility. The inspector noted that Easie GRP does not hold a valid food permit.
Beyond hemp and kratom, inspectors found bottled juice products labeled "Juiceman" in the retail area that did not come from an approved source. Those were voluntarily discarded and placed under stop sale. Mushroom products labeled "silly farms organic mushroom blend" and "proprietary blend" were missing the name and address of the manufacturer and failed to list the common name of each sub-ingredient. Those were also discarded.
What These Violations Mean
The THC concentration finding is the most consequential item in this inspection. Florida law sets 0.3 percent total delta-9 THC as the dividing line between legal hemp and a controlled substance under Chapter 893. Products above that threshold are not legal to sell in a retail shop, regardless of how they are marketed. When inspectors cited this violation at Smokey Moe's, they invoked the controlled substance statute directly in the stop sale orders.
The labeling violations, while less dramatic, carry real consumer protection stakes. A product without a scannable certificate of analysis link, a batch number, or an expiration date gives a buyer no way to verify what is actually in it or whether it has degraded. For cannabinoid and kratom products, where dosing matters and interactions with medications are possible, that missing information is not a technicality.
The "attractive to children" prohibition exists because edible products shaped like animals or cartoons are more likely to be mistaken for candy by young children. Florida law bans that packaging format for hemp extract products precisely because accidental ingestion by a child is a foreseeable outcome.
The unapproved source finding on the Juiceman juice products matters for a different reason. When food enters the retail chain outside of licensed, inspected facilities, there is no paper trail if someone becomes ill. Traceability disappears.
The Longer Record
The inspection data lists this visit as a product re-inspection tied to operating without a valid food permit, and both the permit violation and the THC concentration violation are flagged as repeat findings. That means inspectors had documented both problems at Smokey Moe's before March 11, 2026, and found them unresolved on return.
Operating without a valid permit is not an oversight that goes unnoticed. It means the shop was continuing to sell products to customers during a period when its regulatory authorization had lapsed, and inspectors had already flagged that once before this visit.
None of the 17 violations were corrected on site during the inspection. The stop sale orders issued for the controlled substance products remained active at the close of the inspection, with those products not released.