Last month, Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier paid a visit to the headquarters of Nepa Wholesale, one of state’s largest smoke and vape distributors. According to a LinkedIn post from Nepa Wholesale, AG Uthmeier toured their facility and showed support for their business, which Nepa called a “great opportunity to showcase our operations, values, and commitment to supporting local businesses.”
While AG Uthmeier and Nepa frame the meeting as a celebration of industry and innovation, critics argue that Nepa Wholesale’s products are untested, non-compliant with regulations, marketed toward children, devastating communities and often outright illegal. A long history of lawsuits and government complaints show that Nepa is far from an ethical actor in the vape industry.
NEPA’S ORIGINS
Nepa was founded in 2009 by Nepalese entrepreneur Bijay Shrestha and operates more than six ‘cash-and-carry’ warehouses throughout the state of Florida. Nepa has built their vape empire through aggressive marketing tactics, regularly exporting vape products made in China and India. They recently expanded to Texas, apparently flouting the state’s ban on illicit Chinese vape imports. Nepa has been embroiled in a host of lawsuits related to the theft of intellectual property in selling and marketing vape products.
Nepa is an alleged peddler of synthetic marijuana, or Spice/K2, that has been linked to many cases of psychosis in users throughout the country. Up until recently, Nepa was one of the largest distributors of 7-Hydroxy products, selling pills, drinks, shots, smokeable versions that were linked to addiction and deaths until their banning. They allegedly use a variety of entities hidden under affiliated names or dummy corporations to sell these goods that effectively mask a direct connection to Nepa.
Nepa is accused of selling products such as cream chargers or whippets, nitrous oxide canisters that can be abused as inhalants to produce a quick, euphoric high. Long-term side effects for whippets include brain damage, oxygen deprivation, and even death. They have also been accused of selling pills, chocolate bars, and gummies mimicking the effects of psychedelic mushrooms.
Other controversial items Nepa is accused of selling include those marketed under the banner of Kratom – powders, pills, and shots sold without credible testing or regulation that are addictive and potentially harmful. They have also been accused of peddling hemp flowers, pre-filled joints, blunts, vape cartridges, cannabinoid drinks and gummies with labels claiming they contain no illegal cannabinoids but testing indicates they often contain banned cannabinoids and synthetic compounds.
Additionally, Nepa sells sexual enhancement products such as Royal Honey, Kamagra and Rhino, which are linked to blood pressure spikes and heart complications. They have allegedly purchased counterfeit Labubu dolls and resold them, capitalizing on the demonic doll craze currently sweeping the world. Their hiring practices have also come under fire with Nepa being accused of employing many non-American workers whose legal status needs to be reviewed.
Nepa’s disreputable business practices have caught the ire of the Trump administration. On June 26, 2025, the FDA issued a warning letter to Nepa Wholesale for selling electronic nicotine products without authorization. Products were deemed adulterated and misbranded. Nepa’s Fort Lauderdale location also received a stop-sell order from Florida agriculture for selling products attractive to children, although those products still remain available in their stores to this day. None of these facts stopped AG Uthmeier from going on a gladhanding tour throughout their facility with his special interest ties suggesting this was more than an embarrassing blunder.
CONNECTION TO MEDICAID SCANDAL
AG Uthmeier was at the center of the Hope Florida scandal where $10 million was earmarked to the nonprofit founded by Casey DeSantis from a state Medicaid settlement last year. Weeks after the settlement was finalized, the Hope Florida Foundation sent $5 million to two different organizations backing an anti-marijuana legalization campaign backed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Uthmeier, as DeSantis’ Chief of Staff, also served as Chair of the Keep Florida Clean political committee, which ended up with $8.5 million through the backchanneling of these public funds.
Ignoring the odious conflict of interest underpinning this shadow agreement, the fact is legalized marijuana would put a major dent in the bottom line of companies like Nepa. The market for synthetic cannabinoids and other “legal high” products dissipates when marijuana is legalized and consumers have access to the natural product. While there certainly are health risks related to marijuana usage, those pale in comparison to their synthetic alternatives cooked up in Chinese laboratories. AG Uthmeier crusading against cannabis while getting in bed with an entity like Napa is an example of grotesque hypocrisy.
Tobacco and vape companies are also among the top lobbyists against legal marijuana nationside as they see marijuana as a competitor they wish to box out of the market. In 2020, Gov. DeSantis vetoed a bill that would have banned flavored nicotine in vape cartridges, the type of which are regularly marketed to children. Gov. DeSantis received $50,000 in donations from Reynolds American, a major tobacco provider, in 2021, the same year that DeSantis signed legislation banning local communities from being able to pass stricter regulations on tobacco.
AG Uthmeier cannot reasonably claim ignorance while doing public relations for business interests such as Nepa. AG Uthmeier and the entire DeSantis regime are deeply in bed with big tobacco, which is their primary impetus for opposing legalized marijuana. The Hope Florida scandal continues to play out in the public eye with an anti-marijuana lobbyist close to AG Uthmeier recently being suspended from the nonprofit Save Our Society From Drugs for orchestrating the payment to Uthmeier’s anti-marijuana political entity without the knowledge and approval of the organization’s board. As usual with DeSantis and his cronies, there is much hidden beneath the surface that is driving their public agenda. AG Uthmeier’s tough-on-drugs persona is built on a foundation of sand, and investigations into Nepa’s business practices will continue to chip away at his carefully-crafted facade.
