“Marijuana flower with greater focus of THC is extra useful. So there’s incentive to magnify the THC content material of flower—it may be bought for more cash.”
By Hunter Area, Arkansas Advocate
A brand new civil lawsuit accuses Arkansas’s largest hashish testing lab of conspiring with medical marijuana cultivators to inflate the quantity of THC in sure merchandise.
An aged, power ache affected person targets cultivators BOLD Workforce, Osage Creek Cultivation and Pure State Medicinals in addition to Steep Hill testing lab within the litigation.
The grievance filed Thursday in Pulaski County Circuit Courtroom factors to third-party check outcomes and statistical evaluation to boost questions on Steep Hill’s check outcomes, that are printed on particular person merchandise bought at dispensaries.
The suit alleges that Steep Hill inflates the quantity of THC within the cultivators’ hashish merchandise, and in return, the cultivators have an incentive to make use of Steep Hill’s lab.
“Marijuana flower with greater focus of THC is extra useful,” the go well with reads. “So there’s incentive to magnify the THC content material of flower—it may be bought for more cash. Consequently, cultivators usually select a lab that experiences the very best THC worth, a phenomenon often called ‘lab procuring.’”
Steep Hill’s CEO denied the allegations within the lawsuit and stated the corporate would search to have it dismissed.
The litigation is more likely to garner consideration from throughout the U.S. as its claims mirror rising nationwide issues about THC inflation and “lab procuring.”
The plaintiff within the case had beforehand filed a federal class-action lawsuit with allegations underneath the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (or RICO) Act. That motion was withdrawn.
The Pulaski County grievance consists of alleged testing comparisons from 36 samples between Steep Hill and different “state-approved labs.”
The third-party labs produced THC efficiency outcomes inside 10 p.c of one another, in response to the grievance. In the meantime, Steep Hill’s outcomes averaged 25 p.c or greater than the opposite labs.
“We’re an ISO-accredited lab and have our processes audited each 12 months by respected third events, which we’ve finished since we’ve been in enterprise,” stated Steep Hill CEO and co-owner Brandon Thornton. “We stand behind the standard, integrity and efficacy of our lab, workers and neutral check outcomes.”
Officers and attorneys for the three dispensaries didn’t reply to requests for remark.
The plaintiff additionally factors to purported discrepancies within the frequency distribution of the third-party labs’ outcomes and Steep Hill’s exams.
The third-party labs’ outcomes conform to a typical bell curve, however Steep Hill’s information is irregular with a discontinuous curve across the 20 p.c THC mark, the grievance exhibits. The go well with notes that 20 p.c THC is a well known value threshold.
Screenshot of third-party lab check outcomes included within the grievance.
Screenshot of Steep Hill’s check outcomes included within the grievance.
A study revealed within the Journal of Hashish Analysis discovered related irregularities in testing information in Washington and Nevada.
“In each Nevada and Washington, an unusually excessive frequency of flower merchandise report THC concentrations simply greater than 20 p.c THC (and an unusually small frequency report slightly below 20 p.c THC). This discontinuity is obvious for some, however not all, labs; and it persists even when analyzing merchandise from the identical growers. This means that potential manipulation by some laboratories, reasonably than some growers, drives the outcome. In fact, some growers might also manipulate the samples they ship to laboratories for testing with a view to get hold of greater THC outcomes…”
“These findings underscore the necessity for oversight of authorized hashish laboratories to make sure information reliability.”
Lastly, the Arkansas go well with claims that Steep Hill allowed cultivation firm workers to carry out testing by additionally using them, making a battle of curiosity and violating impartial testing requirements.
The go well with asks for penalties, damages and attorneys’ charges.
State oversight
Whereas state regulation requires the routine testing of hashish earlier than it goes to the market, there are gaps within the state’s regulatory construction.
Whereas the Alcoholic Beverage Management Division and Arkansas Division of Well being share regulatory duties over the medical marijuana trade in Arkansas, each deny enforcement authority over testing requirements.
Scott Hardin, an ABC spokesman, stated the company had acquired a grievance about THC inflation previous to the litigation, however he stated ABC “doesn’t have regulatory authority over laboratories.”
“We don’t have the power to retest product or the authority to take motion towards a lab,” Hardin stated. “Nonetheless, we now have weekly conferences with the Division of Well being and Biotrack[, the state’s seed-to-sale tracking software provider,] to deal with affected person and trade issues and supply assist as wanted on all points.”
Requested what company has regulatory authority over labs, Hardin pointed to the Well being Division.
A spokeswoman for the Division of Well being stated the company didn’t take a look at check information and refers all complaints to ABC.
As for any routine or complaint-based testing checks, ADH Communication Director Meg Mirivel stated the company solely ensures that labs are accredited.
“We don’t carry out checks,” she stated.
This story was first published by Arkansas Advocate.
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