“We are surprised that any further investigation is necessary”
On April 11, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins released a letter to state cannabis stakeholders “regarding a test kit that can be used to measure microbial contaminants in cannabis products under proper laboratory conditions.”
Collins noted that the product came from Medicinal Genomics Corporation (MGC), and “confirmed that only two Independent Testing Laboratories (ITLs) had previously purchased the kit subject to this recall.” Still, the executive director wrote that “the agency’s Investigation and Enforcement department is actively identifying cannabis products tested for microbial contaminants that may not be compliant with Commission regulations.”
Days later, at a CCC meeting on April 14, the commission noted that there is an ongoing investigation into the matter. And this week, MGC responded, saying it’s unnecessary and apparently threatening legal action. As independent journalist Grant Smith-Ellis first reported, MGC released a statement explaining, “On January 18th, 2023, out of an abundance of caution, we recalled one lot of our [testing kit], developed a solution, and rectified the issue with the few affected customers, rendering minimal impact. In fact, most of the labs that received the lot never even opened the kits. In short, we believed this to be an open end-shot case.”
The company then transitions to “four months later” …
Despite the limited nature of this recall and the fact that we took action immediately, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission recently published a bulletin to the entire industry regarding what they claim to be “ongoing investigations into our recall.” We are surprised that any further investigation is necessary. This recall impacted two labs in the state, and one of those labs never used a lot for compliance testing.
As we explained to the CCC on March 13th, we recalled the lot due to a slight change in performance compared to all historical lots. We also provided recommendations to the affected labs for how they could rule out any impact on end products for consumers. … After we proactively reviewed the data with one Massachusetts lab that used the recalled lot, we determined the results were acceptable and decided no further action was required.
And here’s the kicker …
While we appreciate the CCC’s commitment to consumer safety, their “ongoing investigation” into our minor recall is unnecessary. Furthermore, their overzealous response to a matter that was settled months ago has damaged our reputation and our customers’ reputation in the eyes of the public. We will be actively considering further resolution and compensation through legal channels.
Add this to the list of CCC-spurred headaches that the agency now has to deal with.
