CannLabs Closes Colorado Lab, Lays Off Employees

CannLabs, one of the most prominent marijuana testing labs in the country, has closed its Colorado facility and laid off 15 employees, citing financial problems and issues surrounding the termination of former CEO Genifer Murray.

That leaves the publicly traded company with testing labs in Connecticut and Nevada, according to the Denver Post, as well as the StrainData database, a consulting wing of the business, and CannLabs’ intellectual property.

CannLabs’ Colorado laboratory was “no longer operating profitably,” a spokesman told the Post, in part because it’s been waiting on certification from the state to begin microbial testing.

The company meanwhile hopes to acquire a new testing license or local lab, re-open, and possibly rehire some of the staff it was forced to lay off. One issue for the company is that Murray still owns CannLabs’ testing license.

Murray has declined to comment on the status of the company and her departure in October, citing advice from her attorney, which indicates that there may be more to the CannLabs story to come.