Testing lab fires back at Massachusetts regulators 🧪

BAY STATE
Massachusetts stripped a cannabis testing lab of its license. The lab fired back. 

Driving the news: Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission (CCC), the state’s chief regulatory agency, threw gas on the fire in a major lawsuit concerning the accuracy of lab testing. 

MCR Labs, which operates in Massachusetts, New York, and Maine, claims that eight of their competitors are cheating and the state is now backing up that claim against one of the defendants.

What happened: Assured Testing Laboratories, a cannabis lab in Massachusetts, is the state’s first independent lab to have its license suspended amid allegations that it fudged testing results for total yeast.

Assured Testing received notice of the suspension last week and was forced to cease operations by midnight on July 4. From that date, it has 21 days to request a hearing to appeal that order. Assured is one of the defendants in MCR Labs’ suit. 

And then: Assured Testing fired back on Friday, bringing on attorney Mike Ross from the law firm Prince Lobel Tye to sue the CCC. Ross was formerly a member of the Boston City Council and a one-time mayoral candidate. 

The company says that it was not given a chance to appeal its suspension because it was forced to shut down. Assured Testing is asking Suffolk Superior Court to halt the CCC’s suspension.

What they’re saying: “There is a fundamental principle in this state and in this country that before you lose everything at the hands of the government, you have a right to appear in some forum to defend yourself,” Ross said in a statement emailed to reporters.  

The complaint, which was also reviewed by Cultivated, claims that the suspension will "grievously harm” Assured Testing and the lab will be forced to terminate employees. 

On the other hand: "Respondent’s continued operations pose an immediate or serious threat to the public health, safety, or welfare," the CCC said in an 11-page order, signed on June 30 by Executive Director Travis Ahern.

The state checked results from Assured Testing for a full year starting in April of 2024. 

During that time, Assured has a substantial market share, producing about 25% of all mold and yeast tests in the state. On average, about 4.5% of samples fail for microbials, but Assured Testing only failed 10 samples out of a total of 17,565. 

And also: “Assured Testing Laboratory, a locally run business with 33 employees, did nothing wrong here, posed no threat to the public, and ensured that no contaminated products reached the market,” Assured Testing CEO and founder Dr. Dimitrios Pelekoudas said in a statement. 

“This is a simple disagreement about how data was being reported. In fact, the CCC’s regulations were so unclear on this specific testing issue, that it reissued regulations that became effective as of April 1 of this year. At all times Assured Testing Laboratory complied with all active regulations and orders.” 

Back up: MCR Labs called out competing Massachusetts labs for allegedly inflating potency results and downplaying mold and yeast contamination. The company talked to us in November 2023 sharing state data that appeared to show testing discrepancies between labs.

Beyond Massachusetts, cannabis testing labs came under scrutiny in California last year, when the state suspended about two dozen for failing to update their methods. Most of them were able to open back up, but at least four had their licenses revoked.

Our take: States vary in what they allow in terms of mold and total yeast. Most go buy totally colony-forming units (CFUs) — Massachusetts, along with many other states, has a threshold of 10,000 CFUs. Other states focus on individual types of mold and yeast, such as aspergillus. 

We’re not scientists and we won’t pretend to know which standard is the best, but we do know that moldy weed and dishonest labs have no place in the legal cannabis industry. 

-ZH

Florida dispensaries go dark on July 3 👀

"We are aware there is currently an issue with the Florida Seed to Sale System and the API is not operational. Our infrastructure team is actively working to resolve this urgent issue as soon as possible. We will provide an update to you once everything is operational and apologize for any inconvenience," a message BioTrack sent to Florida operators just past noon on July 3, Cultivated learned. 

Go deeper: Florida’s 724 dispensaries were left unable to sell cannabis for most of the day before a major three-day holiday weekend, after BioTrack, the state’s track-and-trace software provider, appeared to suffer an outage. Some stores started accepting cash and manually tracking sales on paper, according to an employee at an Orlando dispensary who confirmed similar reports on social media. The system was back up the next day, allowing stores to sell again, but the outage likely dealt a major blow to sales last week. 

Editor’s note: A representative from BioTrack wasn’t immediately available when reached for comment. 

-ZH

Cannabis banking still not a top legislative priority 🏦

War and the fight over Trump's budget bill have kept the legislature from focusing on cannabis banking reform, Sen. Jeff Merkley told Marijuana Moment last week. Previously, Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, who sponsored the SAFER Banking Bill last session — which would normalize the industry’s access to the financial system if passed — said it would likely not be re-introduced until this fall. 

Pennsylvania lawmakers introduce legislation to create Cannabis Control Board 🌿

State Sen. Dan Laughlin on Friday said he introduced SB 49, which would create a Pennsylvania Cannabis Control Board if passed. The board would create consistent safety standards for medical cannabis and intoxicating hemp, Laughlin said on social media.

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Ayr Wellness gets a lifeline as lenders seek PA assets 👀

Ayr Wellness received a formal notice from a lender, signaling the lender’s intent to reclaim and possibly sell Ayr’s equity in PA Natural Medicine, which operates dispensaries in Pennsylvania. Ayr says it is reviewing its options. Ayr also secured a short-term extension of a waiver agreement with senior noteholders, giving the company until July 11 to resolve ongoing defaults and renegotiate debt terms.

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