HT>Viridis Laboratories Continues to Fight for Safety of Michigan Cannabis Consumers

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Viridis Chief Operations Officer and Founder Todd W. Welch sent an email on June 17 with a statement addressing the company’s values and recent information that has come to light regarding the CRA.

“These CRA allegations against Viridis are from last August and continue to be baseless, meritless and totally detached from science, facts and data,” said the statement. “We intend to defend our business against these false claims during the court process and show the vindictive and retaliatory nature of the CRA’s actions which are clearly designed to cause maximum disruption and damage.”

“Court-ordered proficiency test results that Viridis is in possession of, which the CRA had been withholding, will directly contradict these findings, and we’re confident the truth will prevail when all facts come to light,” the statement continued. “We hope these legal proceedings will pave the way for more transparency, accountability, and reforms at the CRA. Our hope is that the CRA can one day fulfill its true mission of promoting patient and product safety instead of unfairly targeting Michigan businesses trying to grow, compete and create jobs.”

The email also shared that nearly all of the company’s customers have returned, with an added 63 new customers. The company supports testing for approximately 62% of the state’s flower.

The CRA (formerly called the MRA, or Marijuana Regulatory Agency, as of April 2022) issued a recall for products tested by Viridis Laboratories and Viridis North in November 2021, with claims that Viridis products contained “inaccurate and/or reliable results,” for products analyzed within the range of August 10 and November 16, 2021. This resulted in the recall of an estimated $229 million in product value.

The MRA claimed that Viridis’ methods of testing were “unreliable” and “inaccurate,” which Viridis responded to by filing a Court of Claims lawsuit against the MRA on November 23.

By December 3, the court ruled that the CRA must release half of the accused products, which were tested by Viridis North, LLC. Viridis Attorney Kevin Blair praised the court decision, even if “the entire recall was completely without merit.” “This ill-advised recall has caused irreparable harm not only to Viridis but to growers, retailers and consumers throughout the state. The MRA needs to be held fully accountable for violating state law, ignoring the advice of respected national experts and causing mass disruption to the Michigan cannabis industry,” he said in a press release.

Months later in February 2022, more news came forward regarding the CRA’s conduct. Judge Thomas Cameron released a court opinion that “the issuance of the recall against the Bay City facility was, on the Court’s review of the record, arbitrary and without basis.”

Shortly after this, it was revealed that CRA had instructed its agents not to seize illegal cannabis found at CRA-licensed facilities. New evidence from CRA depositions shared troubling truths about the inner workings of the MRA when it comes to following its own policies.

In March, Senator Aric Nesbitt questioned the CRA and its management. “I think it was poorly communicated to your licensees and it didn’t seem like you had thought through the impact on the wider marketplace before acting on the recall, and I thought it was very poorly done and very clumsy in the implementation of the recall,” Nesbitt said at a Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs/Insurance and Financial Services.

Most recently in May, the CRA filed formal complaints about the accuracy of Viridis’s THC test results. According to Viridis CEO Greg Michaud, described that allegations from the CRA “continue to be baseless, meritless and totally detached from science, facts and data.”

Furthermore, Michaud shared that the CRA’s Inter-Laboratory Proficiency Test, which was obtained via a court order, reveals some shocking finds about other lab testing facilities in Michigan. The test results are not yet public, but Welch’s email suggests that more news will be announced soon.

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