1906 Manufacturer of marijuana-infused supplements faces liver damage claims

An Adams County maker of cannabis and herbal supplements recently settled a lawsuit and is facing other claims after some people used their marijuana-infused sleep aids said they had sudden liver problems.

Bailey Pate, a 36-year-old resident of the Denver area, sued Sima Sciences and Nuka Enterprises, both based in Henderson. She claimed that their ‘Midnight’ sleep aid drops caused liver damage after she took them for about 16 months in 2020 and 2021.

She settled with the companies this week for an undisclosed amount.

Laura Browne, an attorney who represented Pate, said thousands of people in Colorado and a handful of other states may have claims, either for the injuries they suffered or for the money they spent on a potentially unsafe product.

The drops, sold under the brand name 1906, contain cannabis and corydalis, a traditional Chinese herbal medicine. Corydalis contains tetrahydropalmatine, or THP, a chemical that can cause liver damage at high doses. The manufacturers recalled the products earlier this year.

Nuka Enterprises CEO Peter Barsoom told JS in a statement Wednesday that the company has “received a small number of reports from customers” who experienced a rare side effect — elevated liver enzymes — from the drops in their latest formulation.

“In all cases we know of, levels returned to normal after discontinuation of use,” he wrote. “While thousands used Midnight every night without any side effects, we take our responsibility seriously and stopped taking Midnight earlier this year. We deeply regret the suffering some customers have experienced.”

In July 2022, the Marijuana Enforcement Division and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued a warning saying the products could cause liver damage. However, the drops remained for sale because the manufacturers said they had corydalis replaced by stephaniaanother herb.

Another state announcement in June said manufacturers were working to remove the drops from store shelves afterward reports of liver injury from stephania version. The Marijuana Enforcement Division routinely accepts this complaints about damage from marijuana products investigate with the state health department if the alleged health consequences are serious.

Evan Hoffman, a Denver attorney, said he represents about 30 people who developed liver problems after using the drops. About half of his clients were hospitalized, usually for between two and eight days, after developing jaundice, nausea and unexplained fatigue, he said.

His clients are in settlement discussions with the company, and several others have reached their own settlements, Hoffman said. He estimated that in an average week, two to four people still contact him because they realize what could have caused the sudden liver problems, he said.

“People are still putting the pieces together right now,” he said.

Hoffman said his clients are not only angry about the unknown health consequences of their liver damage, but also angry because the company seemed to know this was a possibility and failed to warn them.

“They didn’t do anything about it because it was their best-selling product,” he said.

At the end of November, the manufacturers sold six other products under the 1906 label. Visitors to the website could click on a list of ingredients, but the only warnings were that customers should consult their doctor about any dietary supplements, and that pregnant and lactating women should not use these products.

Online searches for the ingredients turned up some linked to kidney damage and liver failure. Others can worsen autoimmune diseases or interfere with medication. However, herbal remedies generally have not been extensively studied, so it is not clear whether the amount of herbs in the supplements could be dangerous.