Michigan Recalls Marijuana After at Least 18 Sickened

mlive.com

At least 18 people complained of “mild allergic reactions” and other health concerns, up to hospitalization, after consuming recalled marijuana from Michigan, a state licensing officials testified last week.

Despite a lack of clear information about what led to those health issues, Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher M. Murray lifted the recall on a large portion of the recalled marijuana.

In the recall issued Nov. 17, the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) warned that “consumers with weakened immune systems or lung disease” were at the “highest risk for health-related incidents such as aspergillus, which can impact lung function, if these potentially harmful products are consumed.” The recall applied to the vast majority of marijuana tested by Viridis between Aug. 10 and Nov. 16. Extracted THC products that don’t undergo testing for yeast or mold were not included.

Aspergillus is a mold that may cause fungal infection. The MRA never notified the public that some customers were experiencing health issues after having consumed the recalled marijuana.

“We have received 18 adverse reaction complaints since the issuance of the recall,” Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) Scientific and Legal Section Manager Claire Patterson testified at a Michigan Court of Claims hearing on Thursday, Dec. 2. “In looking at those, they range from pretty serious side effects and hospitalization to more mild allergic-type reactions.”

The MRA recalled an estimated 64,000 pounds of marijuana worth almost $230 million on Nov. 17, based on court filings, although the MRA has never disclosed how much total product was recalled or sold to the public.

All of the recalled marijuana was tested by Viridis Laboratories, the largest licensed safety lab in the state with test sites in Bay City and Lansing. Viridis on Nov. 23 sued the MRA in the state Court of Claims and requested an emergency hearing with the goal of having the recall lifted.

Viridis labs was founded by three former Michigan State Police Forensic Division employees: Greg Michaud, Todd Welch and Michele Glinn. Hearings were held last week on the company’s request for a judge to overturn the recall.

The MRA, following audits of the lab on Oct. 26 and Oct. 27, determined Viridis was producing inaccurate, unreliable results. In order to test for aspergillus, as well as other types of yeast and mold that is potentially harmful, testing labs keep marijuana samples in incubators for certain lengths of times while in a temperature-controlled environment. The MRA found that Viridis wasn’t keeping a log of when samples were placed into or removed from incubators and that, at times, incubation temperatures strayed from the targeted range.

The lab’s higher-than-industry-average results for THC potency caught the licensing agency’s attention in 2020, but Patterson said it was something else that sparked the latest recall, referred to by Viridis attorneys as the “largest recall in Michigan history.”

There were samples of marijuana that had failed aspergillus testing at non-Viridis labs. Those samples were then promptly shipped to Viridis for retesting, where they then passed.

Usually, if a sample fails for the presence of banned, or higher than allotted amounts of yeast or mold, the marijuana is treated to kill the yeast and mold and then retested, Patterson testified. Failed batches of marijuana must pass testing twice after an initial failing result.

“As it relates to this recall, we had started noticing in ... our statewide monitoring system that packages were failing for aspergillus and then being sent the next day to the (Viridis) laboratories, at which point they were being reported as passing without remediation by the grower,” Patterson testified. “Upon receiving that information, we began requesting additional information from the laboratories.”

The MRA randomly selected licensed labs to retest four samples that had previously failed aspergillus testing but were then passed by Viridis, according to Patterson. All of those samples failed aspergillus testing. They were also tested for THC potency, but those results were not subject to the recall.

Because these tests were part of the MRA’s justification for the recall, and because all of the samples came from Viridis’ Lansing location, the Court of Claims judge lifted the recall on all product that was tested at Viridis’ Bay City location.

According to the MRA’s court filing in response to the Viridis, the lab is currently facing five other investigations related to alleged violation of licensing rules. The details of those pending complaints weren’t disclosed.

Viridis updated its procedures to include incubation logs and other requirements set by the MRA and was cleared to resume all testing services by Nov. 25.

The MRA has said little about the recall, outside of court filings, nor has the agency provided further detail on the “adverse reaction reports” related to the recalled marijuana.

“We have immediately implemented actions to comply with the court’s order,” MRA spokesman said Friday, following the judge’s ruling lifting a portion of the recall. “Due to the ongoing litigation and investigations, we will not be able to comment further, beyond what is published on our website.”

State Sen. Jeff Irwin, D-Ann Arbor, who’s been a legislative advocate for marijuana legalization in Michigan, believes the MRA should release more information about the recall.

“I think that if there is any sort of public health or consumer protection angle, if there is a genuine danger there, then that information needs to be released,” Irwin said. “And really, there should be a bias towards transparency, towards consumers and the public being able to access that information.”

The MRA has not disclosed how much of the recall was lifted by Judge Murray, how much made it to customers, how much has been destroyed or how much has been retested and returned to story shelves for purchase.

“You’d think that kind of information would be part of a recall,” Irwin said.

MLive requested from the MRA more information about the health complaints and received this response:
“While we don’t comment on pending litigation or ongoing investigations, it is important to note that the public was notified that product had been sold in the recall notice. Generally speaking, when an adverse reaction is reported, the agency investigates the report to determine the appropriate course of action.”

Not including processors or growers in possession of recalled product, there were at least 400 retail stores impacted by the recall, according to the MRA.

Marijuana labelling includes the name of the testing lab and the dates they passed testing.

Customers who experience any negative reactions to recalled marijuana, or any products sold in the licensed market, are asked to report it to the MRA via email: MRA-Enforcement@michigan.gov, or by phone, 517-284-8599.