The large-scale “U420” chain, whose stores are opening en masse across the country, sold a particularly dangerous psychotropic substance under the guise of souvenirs.
This was found out by investigative journalists from Bihus.Info, who took the storeʼs products for laboratory testing.
The chainʼs first physical stores appeared in Kyiv in the spring of 2025. It has now grown to about 30 establishments in the capital and other major cities in Ukraine — Kharkiv, Lviv, Dnipro, and Odesa. The majority of customers of such stores are young people, including teenagers.
“U420” became famous thanks to numerous advertisements on social networks, including the involvement of famous bloggers with an audience of many thousands. Among them are actor Taras Tsymbalyuk, Anna Alkhim, Olya Rybay, Yulia Sheludko, Dana Green, and others.
“U420” stores position themselves as “cafe shops for connoisseurs of quality products based on legalized cannabis”. Among other things, you can also buy “souvenir products” here (the so-called hash and joints).
The journalists purchased these "souvenirs" in three different chain stores in Kyiv and sent them for examination to two laboratories: a private one and a state one — the Scientific Research Expert and Forensic Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
The results of the laboratory analysis of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Center revealed that the composition of the "souvenirs" from “U420” contained a psychotropic substance, the circulation of which is prohibited by the Cabinet of Ministersʼ resolution.
This is a synthetic cannabinoid, classified as a type of spice. Due to artisanal production, the composition of each dose is unpredictable, which inevitably leads to critical poisoning or cardiac arrest.
However, the substance was only added to the Cabinet of Ministersʼ list of banned substances on February 5, and journalists had been buying "souvenirs" a few days before that. This may mean that the content of the products is regularly changed, adapting to current bans.
By law, the Ministry of Internal Affairs center must now transfer the results of the study to the National Police, and they must begin an investigation.
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