Michigan regulators have suspended the medical and adult-use cannabis licenses of TAS Asset Holdings after it found its products were combined with unregulated cannabis product before being sold in the regulated market.
The affected products were marketed under the “Fwaygo Extracts” brand and produced between November 10, 2022, and November 17, 2022.
Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) Executive Director Brian Hanna said regulators are seeking revocation of TAS’ licenses.
“The conduct alleged in the formal complaints is a significant risk to the public health and safety of marijuana consumers in Michigan. … It is vital that all licensees throughout the state realize that the CRA will continue to do what it takes to protect the public from bad actors in the regulated market.” — Hanna in a press release
The CRA’s formal complaints allege that on September 16, 2022, two packages of vape cartridges failed safety compliance testing for Bifenthrin, a chemical banned from use in Michigan’s regulated cannabis market, and before they were transferred to and processed by TAS, both packages had passed full safety compliance testing with no Bifenthrin detected.
The CRA investigated the cause of the safety compliance test failure and video surveillance footage showed that the product used to make the vape cartridges was not the same product recorded in Metrc, which had passed compliance testing. The product used to make the vape cartridges had not been processed or entered into Metrc as being a part of the regulated market, the CRA said.
During the investigation, CRA staff noted that the business had many areas that were dirty and cluttered and had leaking containers of various process stages of cannabis and waste. CRA investigators also reported an unapproved, unlicensed warehouse being used as a part of the licensed business and observed various untagged products including flower, distillate, concentrates, and THCa powder in the unapproved warehouse. Additionally, CRA investigators uncovered three barrels of an unknown substance that were wrapped in plastic, two black totes of an unknown substance, and several mason jars of oil. No surveillance cameras were in the unapproved room, and none of the cannabis products found in that room had Metrc tags, the CRA said.
A TAS representative admitted to regulators that the business’s signature product, “Space Rocks,” was produced using the untagged THCa powder and the investigation found that TAS was storing and interchanging unregulated cannabis products with regulated products found at the business. A safe on the premises contained three jars of distillate and five jars of concentrate that did not have Metrc tags. A review of video surveillance footage showed that TAS employees were bringing additional unregulated, untagged product into the business from their personal vehicles which could not be tracked to a licensed business.
In all, TAS was hit with 23 regulatory violations.
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