Michigan regulators and the state’s largest marijuana safety testing lab are at odds.
When customers purchase marijuana off shelves, the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has questioned whether the THC potency results on the label are accurate, at least when Viridis Laboratories has provided the results.
The battle began with a monumental recall issued by the CRA in November 2021 on an estimated $229 million worth of marijuana. The CRA claimed safety test results issued by Viridis Laboratories — the lab that tested all that marijuana — were unreliable.
A year later, numerous unresolved issues persist as part ongoing litigation involving at least a dozen complaints filed with the Michigan Office of Administrative Hearings and Rules, which operates as the court for matters involving government agencies. Among them is the marijuana potency controversy.
Related: Lab fights back after becoming target of $230 million recall
Some questions may be resolved when attorneys for the CRA and Viridis next meet in court. The parties were scheduled to appear for hearings at 9 a.m. on Nov. 29 and 30. The hearings were canceled on Nov. 28 and will be rescheduled at a later date.
The CRA has filed complaints against Viridis, which the lab is contesting. Viridis, in turn filed claims against the CRA, alleging its massive recall and other actions pose an unfair disruption of the company’s business.
Potency results
Viridis Laboratories, which operates in Lansing and Bay City, has developed a reputation for issuing marijuana THC potency results that some businesses, competing labs and the CRA feel are suspiciously high, if not impossible. Sometimes, potency results exceed 40% in a market where anything over 29% is outside the norm, according to the CRA threshold for auditing results.
High THC potency drives profitability and value in the current market. Marijuana producers like to see high potency numbers and they pay the labs’ salaries.
As of May 19, Viridis was using a potency testing method that state licensors hadn’t approved, according to a CRA complaint that’s been removed from the state website.
It’s unclear if the method has been approved since the complaint was filed. The CRA won’t discuss the topic, citing ongoing litigation.
The CRA complaint said the agency began looking into high Viridis potency results in December 2020. It requested the lab’s standard operating procedures on Feb. 2, 2021, and determined they didn’t match the operating procedures the CRA had on file, according to the complaint.
“Between November 2020 and the present, the CRA notified (Viridis) on multiple occasions of (its) non-adherence with the approved (standard operating procedures) on file for potency testing,” the May 19 complaint said.
The CRA audits results for any marijuana that registers a THC potency 29% or higher. As of May 19, the CRA said nearly 80% of all potency audits involved marijuana previously tested by Viridis, and marijuana tested at the Lansing Viridis lab exceeded the threshold potency at a rate more than seven times higher than other labs across the state.
Viridis disputes both that its results are skewed and that its method is unapproved.
Certification
Two weeks ago, Viridis announced its potency testing method received “certification” from the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) Research Institute. Additionally, Viridis said its labs are accredited by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation.
“We received approval from the CRA for our potency method in December 2020, and that is the same method approved and certified through the AOAC,” CEO Greg Michaud told MLive via email. “Viridis has always stood by our potency results, and the AOAC has independently confirmed that our method is precise, accurate and does not inflate potency.”
Related: Read the full certification document
The AOAC is an organization that develops and approves international scientific testing methods related to cannabis and agricultural products. The CRA uses AOAC guidelines in its own lab approval criteria.
The AOAC Research Institute is a new spinoff program that specializes in analyzing proprietary testing methods that aren’t well established and haven’t been thoroughly peer reviewed. Viridis claims its method is proprietary, indicating it’s not a widely used method.
Michaud cited portions of the recent AOAC certification that said the Viridis method “demonstrated more effective recovery and representation of cannabinoid levels than methods now in use” and “more accurately measures doses consumers would be exposed to.”
“We certify that we have agreed that it works the way that they claim,” Scott G. Coates, senior director of the AOAC Research Institute, told MLive.
Related: Michigan issues enormous marijuana recall over safety concerns
In a statement offered to Viridis for a press release issued on Nov. 18, Coates said: “We are proud to announce that Viridis Laboratories is the first company to complete our rigorous (Reviewed and Recognized) R2 program that verifies that their cannabis potency testing method provides accurate and reliable analytical results. Viridis has demonstrated a high degree of scientific and analytical excellence.”
The AOAC Research Institute blessing, however, may not be enough for CRA approval. It’s unclear if the CRA has even reviewed the purported proprietary method or agreed that it meets other agency requirements.
The THC inflation issue is a national one, as labs are torn between science and pressure from customers. The companies that pay for state-mandated testing from safety labs also receive economic benefits directly tied to high potency results.
Related: Super potent weed spurs mistrust in Michigan marijuana industry
On Oct. 20, plaintiffs seeking a class-action lawsuit, filed claims against the owners of Jeeter marijuana brand pre-rolls in Los Angeles Superior Court, claiming the brand regularly inflates potency and misleads customers for profits.
“For example, the Baby Jeeter Fire OG Diamond Infused 5-Pack Preroll was listed as having 46% THC on the label,” the lawsuit said. “Independent lab testing showed, however, that the actual THC content of the product was substantially lower, between 23-27% THC.”
Similar claims have been levied against products in Michigan that have been labeled with what some have called impossibly high potencies.
More scrutiny
The addition of a “reference lab” could curb similar activity in the Michigan lab system said acting CRA Director Brian Hanna. A reference lab would be paid by the CRA to provide unbiased audits of results produced by Michigan safety labs. No timeline for possible implementation has been revealed.
Anton Harb Jr. is a member of the Consumer Connection Group, an advisory group that regularly meets with CRA leaders to discuss issues that impact customers. Harb said there’s a level of consumer ignorance that is fueling the potency problem. He said there’s a widespread misconception by consumers that potency equates to quality or value, when in fact there are many other factors, such as terpene content, that may have greater impact on the user experience than THC.
“Consumers are just not educated enough,” he said. “Not necessarily because they’re not looking into it enough, but just because it’s such a new phase of legalization that the information just isn’t out there.”
Regarding the Viridis-CRA legal battle and surrounding issues, Harb said the average marijuana consumer is in the dark. He doesn’t believe customers are scrutinizing packaging labels, safety results or distinguishing based on the labs that provide them. Their decisions are generally based solely on price and potency, he said.
“To be honest with you, I don’t think people would even know what Viridis is,” Harb said. “Unless you’re in the community, you’re a licensee, you’re in that patient-caregiver world, it would make zero sense to the common person just walking into a dispensary.”
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