A U.S. Army sergeant has sued health supplements company Total Life Changes LLC, alleging it failed to properly warn consumers that its Raspberry Lemonade weight loss tea and another product contain THC, putting her at risk of getting booted from the military following a positive drug test.
The latest action against Total Life Changes was filed by U.S. Army Sgt. Ashley Miller, who seeks to represent a proposed class of customers affected by the company’s allegedly misleading packaging.
Miller, a computer technician and instructor stationed at Fort Gordon in Augusta, contended that she and the proposed class members would not have purchased [Total Life Change’s] Raspberry Lemonade if they had known that it contained THC.
The plaintiff said that after she drank the tea, she tested positive for THC in a random drug test by the Army and had “tangible benefits of her employment suspended pending investigation.”
Miller said a friend recommended the tea to her as a weight loss aid, and that she was tested days after she had some of the tea over the Thanksgiving holiday in 2020. In January, she said, the Army told her she’d tested positive for THC, and that it was investigating her. The outcome of the investigation could result in anything from a demotion in rank to separation from the Army via an ‘other than honorable’ discharge.
Miller said she was “shocked” by the results of the drug test, and took some of the tea to a professional lab for testing, which confirmed the tea would cause production of the metabolite that would cause a positive drug test.
The sergeant said she shared the results with the Army, but that as of the date she filed the suit, its investigation was ongoing. She also had to complete a substance abuse program, was ineligible for promotion, couldn’t use a tuition reimbursement benefit she’d been using to complete a bachelor’s degree, and was suspended from working as an instructor, which would negatively impact her performance evaluations.
Miller accused the company of violating Georgia’s fair business law and alleged the company unjustly enriched itself. In addition to damages, restitution and penalties, she seeks an injunction barring the company from continuing to market the products as THC-free.
Total Life Changes faces similar allegations in federal court in New Jersey and in Minnesota. The company has sought dismissal of both of those actions.
LAW360: https://www.law360.com/articles/1394339/army-sergeant-is-latest-to-sue-supplement-co-over-thc-tea