The night of Aug. 12, approximately 19,000 cannabis product samples tested by Greenleaf Labs had their testing status changed from passed to failed in Oklahoma’s track-and-trace system, the state’s Medical Marijuana Authority told dispensaries.
Authorities suspended Poteau, Okla.-based Greenleaf Labs on an emergency basis following a routine inspection from July 28 through July 31. During the inspection, they discovered that products tested by the lab during a two-year period, from April 2023 to July 31, may have been contaminated with yeast and mold, according to an Aug. 8 announcement on X.
An embargo has not yet been issued. As OMMA conducts package tracing in order to institute a formal embargo, the agency issued a notice to dispensaries on Aug. 13 alerting them about the change in status in Metrc so they “can get a head start by removing those products from their inventory now.”
OMMA spokesperson Porsha Riley said the product was medical marijuana flower. She declined to provide further details about the inspection because of the pending investigation and litigation review by the agency’s legal team.
“Communicating the information as soon as we have it is OMMA’s first priority at this time,” the notice to dispensaries said.
OMMA said businesses with submitted samples or testing-in-progress at Greenleaf can send a new sample to another lab. For products that now have a test-failed status, manufacturers are allowed to retest per emergency rules effective July 12.
There are 22 other labs in the state with active licenses, according to the CRB Monitor database, as of Aug. 14.
Representatives from Greenleaf did not respond to requests for comment.
More states grapple with cannabis testing failures
As the legal cannabis market matures, quality problems with lab testing have become an increasing concern in many states as regulators step up recalls and suspend or revoke lab licenses.
California is one state that has been criticized for not preventing pesticides and other contaminants from entering the market. In the last year, it has increased lab testing enforcement. On Aug. 11, the state’s Department of Cannabis Control announced it recalled 183 products in the second quarter due to incomplete compliance testing.
Lexachrom Analytical Laboratory in Freeport, Long Island, shut down in June following New York’s largest recall for pesticide contamination, MJBizDaily reported.
And on June 30, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission suspended the license of Assured Testing Laboratories for allegedly failing to report mold and yeast contaminations. The lab has filed a lawsuit against the state, accusing it of acting unlawfully, according to Law360.
Meanwhile, Vermont is taking quality control into their own hands and opening the country’s first state-run cannabis lab.
