Nevada Testing Lab Loses License After Approving Tainted Products

A second Nevada cannabis testing lab has lost its license after regulators found the company approved products for sale that had elevated levels of mold, yeast, bacteria, and fungus, the Reno Gazette Journal reports. Cannex Nevada LLC approved the flower products which were cultivated by Nevada Wellness Group LLC, ACC Enterprises LLC, and Integral Cultivation LLC and subsequently sold at dispensaries in Carson City, North Las Vegas, Las Vegas, and Mesquite. The products were harvested between March and October 2019 and sold between October 5 and December 27.

In November, officials suspended the license of Certified Ag Labs LLC after it discovered the lab had misrepresented THC levels. The Department of Taxation said products tested at the facility “may be labeled incorrectly and could contain a different level of THC than what is listed on product packaging,” according to an Associated Press report.

Rudy Gardner, a managing member of the lab, told the AP that the suspension “is as baseless as it is appalling” and that he “stands behind the data 100 percent.” The lab had its license suspended once before in December 2017 but reopened a month later. That suspension was due to the lab not understanding the new regulations, the report said.

There are no known reports of illness associated with the products approved by Cannex and regulators say that neither the dispensaries nor cultivators knew that the products exceeded allowable mold, yeast, bacteria, and fungus limits.

“(The Department of Taxation) is advising consumers who have purchased the affected marijuana to avoid consuming the products. Consumption of the affected marijuana should particularly be avoided by individuals with suppressed immune systems.” – Nevada Department of Taxation in a press release, via the Gazette Journal

A lawyer for Cannex told KLAS that the company was told by regulators their license would not be suspended and they were not given a chance to take corrective steps before they were shut down. The company plans to request an immediate hearing with the state’s cannabis regulators.