Late last month, regulators in California withdrew the license of a cannabis testing laboratory. This development comes after it was determined that the lab tampered with equipment and faked test results so it could provide passing test results to marijuana products that were possibly contaminated with mold and dangerous pesticides.
In 2022, the state’s Department of Cannabis Control found that California Cannabis Testing Labs engaged in activities that posed a threat to public health. According to its report, the department rejected the company’s application for an annual license and withdrew its provisional license as well. A notice issued last month by Deputy Director Michael Cheng listed alleged violations unearthed at the Northridge-based firm.
The alleged violations include:
- tampering with lab equipment so the equipment would be unable to detect pesticides and solvents identified as cancer risks by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- retesting samples to produce artificially inflated and/or false THC levels
- intentionally faking bench sheet records for mycotoxins and pesticides
The company’s lab director is also said to have signed a certificate of analysis for a marijuana product that reported no detection of chlorfenapyr, a pesticide. However, tests carried out later by the state on samples gathered from the same batch found almost 600 times the amount of chlorfenapyr permitted under Californian law.
The company is owned by Melissa Mabe, Krishna Chivukula and Roger Chivukula.
David Hafner, a spokesperson for the state’s cannabis control department, revealed that the company had already requested a hearing concerning the status of its license. The company’s license, which was first issued in 2019 July, is listed as cancelled on a state database.
Currently, it remains unclear how many products tested by the lab were sold to consumers in the state.
The report also reveals that three recalls were issued in March, May and June this year for marijuana products the laboratory had approved, which were later found to be contaminated with aspergillus, a type of mold. In July, another mandatory recall was issued for vaporizer cartridges that were tainted with chlorfenapyr.
These issues come at a time when the marijuana industry is dealing with growing concerns over testing, with deliberate falsification of test results becoming a significant problem.
Other violations the company may have committed include:
- not accurately reporting total THC levels on certificates of analyses
- not carrying out tests for pentachloronitrobenzene, a fungicide
- not adhering to standard procedures for testing for pesticides
- faking certificates of analysis by reporting inaccurate results from laboratory data
These stern actions being taken against testing labs accused of acting unprofessionally are a welcome step for licensed companies across the industry, such as TerrAscend Corp. (TSX: TSND) (OTCQX: TSNDF), because they work so hard to build their reputations for manufacturing safe and high-quality products for their consumers, and entities that try to cut corners spoil the reputation of the entire industry.
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