Cannabis Testing Lab Sues Michigan MRA over recall

[dwkl]

A Michigan cannabis testing lab is suing the state’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency over a major recall of cannabis products. Many products tested by Viridis Laboratories were pulled from shelves The marijuana products impacted have a test date between August 10, 2021 and November 16, 2021..

64,000-pound, $229 million Michigan marijuana recall is the result of bureaucratic ‘abuse,’ a lawsuit claims

The lawsuit filed Monday alleges state regulators acted in a discriminatory and predatory manner when they questioned the safety of a variety of cannabis products tested by Viridis Labs.

The recall is the largest in Michigan history and involves more than $200 million in pulled cannabis products across the state, according to a news release from Viridis’ attorneys.

Attorneys representing Viridis say the agency violated state law by not letting he company to present its case to an administrative law judge before shutting down the company’s labs.

“The recall is the latest and most egregious action by the MRA in a prolonged campaign of harassment aimed at Viridis,” said David Russell, an attorney with Foster, Swift, Collins & Smith, P.C. “Unfortunately, this latest effort by the MRA has caused huge disruption and chaos in the industry, harming small businesses and besmirching Viridis’ reputation with no basis in science.”

The recall affects numerous products processed by the company from early August to mid-November. It includes items tested at a Bay City location, although Virdis alleges that the products the MRA says failed retesting came exclusively from a Lansing location.

MRA officials declined to comment on the pending litigation.

MORE RELATED NEWS STORIES

See the recall notice issued 11-17-21 below

For More Info Visit KomornLaw.com

Meanwhile What about you?…

Do you feel protected or it’s just another day of being a pawn?

Tested between Aug. 10 and Nov. 16. How much weed do you have left that you purchased in Aug or Sept or Oct or even Nov 10th? Can you unsmoke this alleged product and return it?

– or –

If you are a patient – are you thanking your caregiver and the caregiver system for providing you what you need without the distraction of the “system”. Some system is good but a soaked “system” is not. Enjoy it for now. It has been said here for long time. They are coming. Slow and steady wins the race.

Most people never had a problem until marijuana was legalized (except with the justice system of course). Let the lawsuits and deconstruction of the industry commence.

DARVO

MRA RECALL NOTICE – Issued 11-17-21

Notification of Marijuana Product Recall

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) has identified inaccurate and/or unreliable results of products tested by laboratories Viridis North, LLC and Viridis Laboratories, LLC.

In the interest of public health and safety, the MRA is issuing this health and safety advisory bulletin for all marijuana products tested by Viridis  Laboratories, LLC (license numbers SC-000009 and AU-SC-000113) and Viridis North, LLC (license numbers SC-000014 and AU-SC-000103) except for inhalable marijuana concentrate products such as:

• Vape carts.
• Live resin.
• Distillate.
• Any other cannabis concentrate created through residual solvent extractions.

The marijuana products impacted have a test date between August 10, 2021 and November 16, 2021. All marijuana product labels are required to list the name and license number of the safety compliance facility that conducted the testing and date the product was tested.

Note: An MRA investigation is still on-going.

Consumers who have marijuana products in their possession that meet the recall criteria may return the products to the marijuana sales location where they were purchased for proper disposal. Consumers with weakened immune systems or lung disease are at the highest risk for health-related incidents such as aspergillosis, which can impact lung function, if these potentially harmful products are consumed.

Consumers who have experienced adverse reactions after using these products should report their symptoms and product use to their physician. Consumers are requested to report any adverse product reactions to the MRA via email: MRA-Enforcement@michigan.gov or via phone: 517-284-8599.

Marijuana sales locations that sold product covered by this bulletin must display this recall notice on the sales floor, visible to all customers, for 30 days from the date of this notice. Marijuana sales locations that receive adverse product reactions from consumers should report the adverse product reactions to the agency at MRA-Enforcement@michigan.gov and document these reports in METRC.

Licensees with products remaining in their inventory that meet the recall criteria have the following options:

• Destroy the product and provide proof of destruction: MRA-Compliance@michigan.gov.
• Have the product retested for the microbials compliance panel.
• Send the product back to the original licensee source so they can destroy or have the product retested as a larger batch.

LINK

MRA Public Health and Safety Advisory Bulletins

• 2021-11-17 – Notification of Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2021-09-14 – Notification of Voluntary Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2021-07-07 – Notification of Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-09-17 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-08-06 – Notification of Voluntary Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-03-20 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Product Recalls 
• 2020-02-07 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-01-22 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-01-17 – Notification of Expanded Marijuana Product Recall 
• 2020-01-10 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Flower Recall 
• 2019-12-17 – Notification of Multiple Medical Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-10-04 – MDHHS Reports First Death in the State from Vaping-Related Lung Injury 
• 2019-08-30 – Notification of Medical Marijuana Product Recalls 
• 2019-08-16 – Notification of Unreliable Safety Compliance Facility Test Results 
• 2019-08-07 – Notification of Inaccurate Potency Results 
• 2019-06-21 – Marijuana Regulatory Agency Requests Growers to Refrain from Using Certain Pesticide Products 
• 2019-04-12 – Lead Contamination in Vape Cartridges 
• 2019-02-26 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-26 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-11 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-11 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-11 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-11 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-02-11 – Notification of Multiple Marijuana Products Recall 
• 2019-01-04 – Voluntary Recall of Marijuana Products 

PlanetGreenTreesTV.com

The Michigan Medical Marijuana Association (MMMA)
Public forums for guests and members of the Michigan Medical Marijuana Association. 
This is an open forum related to a variety of topics from legal issues to growing for medical use to strains and more.

LEGAL ADVISORY – Rules, Regulations and laws may have changed after this information was posted. It is up to the reader to research and determine the current status of those items. It is always best to consult an attorney that has experience and is focused on the cannabis industry. One of the most well known law firms in the industry for over 25 years is Komorn Law

Other Posts

• Cannabis Testing Lab Sues Michigan MRA over recall
• MRA Notification of Marijuana Product Recall
• Detroit voters will decide To decriminalize psychedelics
• USDA approves modifications to Michigan industrial hemp plan
• MEDICAL MARIHUANA FACILITIES LICENSING ACT (MMFLA)

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[Restorium2]

Not sure why they have to be so 'cryptic' about it.

After reading on and on, and between the lines, it looks like a retest showed mold in the buds. 

Why they can't just start with that I don't know. Maybe because they want this to look worse than what it is?

 

[Restorium2]

This is what you get when you use testing as a weapon you don't even understand to belittle your competition.

If you look close enough you will find mold in every sample.

Nature is full of molds. They are part of our ecosystem. Without mold we have no useable ecosystem.

Now they have to decide on an acceptable level of mold for each particular individual. 

Guess what else? Cannabis sometimes has some bugs on it too! And bug crap, of all things. And others kinds of crap if you grow organically. 

It's a very slippery slope that I am so thankful that I'm no part of.

I guess my cannabis karma has spared me from this circular firing squad. 

Once I had a jar of my best get moldy.

2 ounces wasted. I nearly cried over it. 

64,000 pounds wasted? With no light at the end of the tunnel they are going down. 

 

[Wild Bill]

You would think they would be happy. One of the main arguments from the dispensary lobby was that their product was safe because it had been tested. This should prove their point. When it tests as unsafe it's destroyed and we're all safe again. Success! 😂

[Restorium2]

18 hours ago, Wild Bill said:

You would think they would be happy. One of the main arguments from the dispensary lobby was that their product was safe because it had been tested. This should prove their point. When it tests as unsafe it's destroyed and we're all safe again. Success! 😂

Well that's the worst part. It got out to the public and they all smoked it!! Now they get their money back. Worst case scenario. They don't even know for sure when and where it got moldy. Maybe in the back of a warm transport truck.

[semicaregiver]

On 11/25/2021 at 12:07 PM, Wild Bill said:

You would think they would be happy. One of the main arguments from the dispensary lobby was that their product was safe because it had been tested. This should prove their point. When it tests as unsafe it's destroyed and we're all safe again. Success! 😂

That was exactly their spin on the issue.  I can not find the specific quote from Steve Linder (MCMA exec. director) but it went something like:   'This recall is exactly why we feel testing is of paramount importance and while it is an unfortunate financial loss it is a necessary step to insure public safety'

[Restorium2]

'Recall' means the system failed. Period. Someone(s) cheated and got caught. 

[Restorium2]

It's like;

Testing lab found a 'little mold' in the test batch and made an unofficial call to his buddy the grower. 

They made an unofficial choice to ignore it because 'you couldn't see it'. 

Then somewhere down the line some portion of the 64,000 pounds got tested again and failed.

They couldn't contain the fallout so this is where we are at with a total recall.

Some folks will not return it. So it's still a win for the grower compared to throwing it all out in the first place.

Without an investigation with total transparency with the findings made public, then a huge fine, this is all a smoke screen.

[Restorium2]

Here's where the science is at on this;

Total Yeast and Mold

 

 

The results of a Total Yeast and Mold (TYM) test are an indication of yeast and mold contamination on a cannabis sample.

Yeasts and molds can cause deterioration and decomposition of foods, which is why food manufacturers will commonly test their products for TYM. Certain species of yeast and mold, such as Aspergillus fumigatus, produce toxins that can cause potentially fatal infections.

However, TYM tests are unable to differentiate between pathogenic, beneficial, and benign yeast and molds, making them poor indicators of safety. A low TYM result does not mean a cannabis sample is free of pathogens. A high TYM result doesn’t mean a sample is harmful to consumers. This is especially true in cannabis, which has a diverse microbiome of beneficial microbes that are not harmful to humans. For example, many organic cannabis growers use Trichoderma, a fungus that can help plant nutrition and protect it from disease.

Still, many cannabis regulators require cannabis samples pass TYM testing before they can be sold in dispensaries. The most current version of the Cannabis Inflorescence and Leaf monograph published by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia, which many states use to determine pass or fail criteria for microbial testing, recommends less than 10,000 CFU/g on cannabis plant material and 1,000 CFU/g on extracts.

Who requires TYM testing?

• Canada
• Colorado
• Connecticut
• Florida
• Hawaii
• Illinois
• Iowa
• Maine
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Minnesota
• Montana
• Nevada*
• New Hampshire
• New Mexico
• North Dakota
• Ohio
• Oklahoma
• Pennsylvania
• Rhode Island
• Utah

*Only required for select matrices, view our Cannabis Microbial Testing Regulations by State page for more information

Why Use qPCR for TYM testing on Cannabis?

Peer-reviewed studies have shown that qPCR testing methods, such as the PathoSEEK Microbial Safety Testing Platform, are able to more accurately detect and quantify yeast and mold species present on a cannabis sample than culture-based methods. The PathoSEEK Total Yeast and Mold test looks for a specific DNA sequence that exists in all yeasts and molds. Because of this, the PathoSEEK Total Yeast and Mold test can detect all yeast and mold species, regardless of whether they grow in culture. Culture-based tests can only detect the species that grow in a given medium and timeframe. Conversely, qPCR can more effectively exclude off-target microbial species, such as bacteria, which have been shown to grow in TYM culture medium.

 

 

Test for Total Yeast and Mold with PathoSEEK

Labs can use our PathoSEEK Microbial Safety Testing Platform to test for Total Yeast and Mold in a variety of cannabis matrices. The PathoSEEK® Platform is the only method designed for and validated on cannabis flower, extracts, and a variety of infused products.

[Restorium2]

Digging deeper;

If you click on the link in my previous post you can check out the testing parameters state by state.

Michigan is the only state that has zero tolerance for aspergillus:

If Aspergillus spp. is detected, the sample fails.