The Cannabis Regulatory Agency Aug. 20 announced a settlement with Viridis Laboratories and Viridis North (collectively, Viridis), ending a years-long series of disciplinary actions and civil lawsuits involving the state-licensed safety compliance facilities. The settlement results in the immediate revocation of Viridis’ Lansing licenses and requires Viridis’ Bay City location to close by September 28.
As part of the agreement, Viridis’ three majority owners – Todd Welch, Gregoire Michaud, and Michele Glinn – will be permanently excluded from participating in Michigan’s marijuana industry. Viridis also agreed to dismiss its administrative complaint alleging the CRA unnecessarily disrupted its business and its two appeals pending in the Court of Appeals – one involving the Court of Claims’ dismissal of the labs’ efforts to reopen a 2021 lawsuit against the CRA, and one involving the Ingham County Circuit Court’s dismissal of Viridis’ lawsuit against current and former CRA employees.
Along with Viridis agreeing to shut down and admitting to all regulatory violations alleged in the CRA’s six administrative complaints, the permanent industry bans on the individual owners involved are a centerpiece of the global settlement.
“This is justice, plain and simple,” said Brian Hanna, the executive director of the CRA. “Viridis failed to uphold the standards required of marijuana safety compliance facilities in Michigan. Viridis circumvented the rules. Their majority owners will never operate in this space again, and the Michigan cannabis industry will be stronger for it.”
The cases stem from the CRA uncovering evidence that Viridis failed to follow approved testing procedures in several respects, resulting in inaccurate or unreliable test results. Several competitors alleged they were pushed to the brink – some even out of business – as a result of Viridis’ disregard for the rules.
“This wasn’t just a single misstep,” said Hanna. “It was a sustained, deliberate pattern of noncompliance that shook confidence in the entire regulated cannabis system.”
“We are at a pivotal moment, where scientific progress in cannabis is unfolding under our watch,” said Claire Patterson, director of the CRA’s reference laboratory. “Here, we had a responsibility to get this right and set a critical precedent. Scientific integrity isn’t a formality – it’s the foundation of the cannabis industry. The future of this industry depends on ethics, transparency, and science we can all trust.”
The outcome reaffirms the CRA’s commitment to a safe, fair, and transparent cannabis marketplace. The agency will continue to work with stakeholders, lawmakers, and industry leaders to ensure that those who undermine the integrity of the regulatory framework are held fully accountable.
The formal complaints, the consent order and stipulation documents, and the stipulated order of dismissal can be found here.
