The Michigan Hashish Regulatory Company this week suspended the license of one of many state’s licensed marijuana processors, alleging that the corporate used illicit hashish extract to fabricate a few of its merchandise. In an announcement from the Michigan Hashish Regulatory Company (CRA) launched on Tuesday, the regulator introduced that it has issued formal complaints in opposition to TAS Asset Holdings, LLC in Lansing and positioned a abstract suspension on the agency’s license to course of medical marijuana and adult-use hashish.
The CRA stated that the processor’s marijuana flower coated with hashish concentrates referred to as area rocks was manufactured with illicit isolate that had not been examined for purity and security and had not been entered in Metrc, the seed-to-sale hashish monitoring system used to observe the motion of licensed hashish all through the state. The company additionally issued a marijuana consumer advisory bulletin warning the corporate’s prospects that the merchandise, which have been marketed underneath the Fwaygo Extracts model identify and manufactured between November 10, 2022, and November 17, 2022, weren’t produced in compliance with state statutes and administrative laws and could also be unsafe. CRA suggested shoppers who’ve skilled adversarial reactions after utilizing the merchandise to report their signs and product use to their healthcare suppliers.
“The conduct alleged within the formal complaints is a major danger to the general public well being and security of marijuana shoppers in Michigan,” CRA govt director Brian Hanna said in a statement from the company. “Whereas we work by means of the method to hunt revocation of those licenses, it is important that each one licensees all through the state notice that the CRA will proceed to do what it takes to guard the general public from dangerous actors within the regulated market.”
The CRA famous that in September, two packages of vape cartridges dealt with by TAS had examined optimistic for the presence of bifenthrin, a chemical insecticide that’s banned from use in Michigan’s regulated hashish market. Earlier than they have been transferred to and processed by TAS Asset Holdings, each packages of cartridges had handed full security compliance testing with no bifenthrin detected.
The company then started an investigation to find out the reason for the security compliance failure. A overview of surveillance footage recorded on the TAS facility confirmed that the hashish product used to make the vape cartridges was not the identical product recorded in Metrc that had handed compliance testing. The product used to make the vape cartridges had not been correctly processed as a part of the regulated market or entered into Metrc.
“In the course of the investigation, CRA employees famous that the enterprise had many areas that have been soiled and cluttered and had leaking containers of assorted course of levels of marijuana and waste,” the regulator maintains. “The CRA investigators noticed an unapproved, unlicensed warehouse being utilized as part of the licensed enterprise. The CRA investigators additionally noticed numerous untagged marijuana merchandise together with flower, distillate, concentrates, and THCa powder within the unapproved warehouse.”
Regulators found a number of mason jars stuffed with oil and three barrels and two black totes that have been stuffed with an unknown substance within the unapproved warehouse. The unlicensed space didn’t have surveillance cameras, and not one of the marijuana merchandise within the room had Metrc tags as required by state laws, the CRA alleged in its announcement.
“A TAS consultant admitted that the enterprise’s signature product, “Area Rocks,” is produced utilizing the untagged THCa powder,” the CRA wrote. “The investigation additionally confirmed that TAS was storing and interchanging illicit marijuana merchandise with regulated product discovered on the enterprise. A secure on the premises contained three jars of distillate and 5 jars of marijuana focus that didn’t have Metrc tags affixed.”
Video surveillance additionally confirmed that TAS staff had introduced unlicensed hashish product into the manufacturing from a private car. The product didn’t have a Metrc tag and couldn’t be traced again to a licensed enterprise.
The formal criticism from the CRA alleges 23 regulatory violations in opposition to every of TAS Asset Holdings’ hashish processor licenses. The corporate is permitted to request a listening to to contest the allegations within the criticism. State legislation additionally offers for a listening to to find out whether or not the abstract suspensions ordered by the regulator ought to stay in impact.
The CRA’s motion in opposition to TAS is the second time this month the regulator has suspended a hashish processor’s license. On February 3, the CRA suspended the licenses held by Candid Labs, a processor in Corunna, Michigan working underneath the identify Layercake Farms. Throughout an investigation, the CRA found jars of hashish distillate that didn’t have required Metrc tags.
“Primarily based on its investigation of the conduct alleged within the formal complaints, the CRA decided that the security or well being of patrons or staff is jeopardized by Candid Labs’ continued operation and that the general public well being, security, or welfare requires emergency motion,” the CRA said in a statement on the time.