For nearly two and a half years, Michigan’s marijuana industry has watched as a multi-pronged legal battle unfolded between Michigan regulators and the state’s largest cannabis testing facility.
The battle that began with one of the most expansive recalls in the fledgling industry’s history has prompted flurries of legal filings and hours of depositions and hearings — the results of which could have an impact on state regulatory operations moving forward and shed light on a recall that affected a majority of retailers in 2021.
The last of the administrative hearings between Viridis Laboratories and the Cannabis Regulatory Agency concluded Wednesday after days of testimony on a fight that broke out in 2021 and shows no signs of ending any time soon. Parties will be submitting their written closing briefs and responses over the next six months. But even after a final decision is issued in the case, appeals are likely.
On the surface, the litigation between Viridis and the state poses critical questions about the company’s compliance with testing methodologies meant to accurately detect contaminants and potency — the level of the psychoactive compound THC within a given sample of cannabis that creates a high when ingested in food or through smoking marijuana.
But testimony in administrative, state and federal court proceedings paints a more complex picture of the timeline of complaints against the facility, the founders’ roots at the Michigan State Police and allegations that the company was targeted by agency employees after expressing concerns to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s office.
“You’ve got to step back and ask yourself: Why is the state using so many of their resources targeting one agency on what basically, it is saying, is an unapproved potency method?” said Greg Michaud, CEO and founder of Viridis Laboratories. “They’re trying to justify, after the fact, their recall.”
The Cannabis Regulatory Agency declined to answer any questions The Detroit News posed about the legal fight, pointing instead to the thousands of pages of hearing transcripts accumulated in the case. The agency is lobbying the Legislature for a change in state law that would allow it to collect, possess and test cannabis for a yet-to-be-built, state-run lab that would allow it to do investigative testing and create standards for licensed testing facilities like Viridis.
Whatever the actual causes of the recall and whatever the results of the ongoing litigation, the industry is watching, said Michael Komorn, a longtime marijuana defense attorney.
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