California cannabis regulators last week shut down a massive licensed cultivation operation connected to the still-unexplained death of a worker after allegedly discovering “adulterated” product and pesticide violations, MJBizDaily has learned.
And in a sign of trouble for the nearly $4 billion annual statewide industry, one day after the Department of Cannabis Control suspended Joel Michaely Farms’ permit on Sept. 8, the agency recalled three batches of infused cannabis flower that originated there.
These developments since the Aug. 27 death of Yufang Lan, who law enforcement officials said earlier this month worked at the farm, raises broader questions about product and worker safety as well as regulator oversight, observers said.
How did a California cannabis worker die?
Yufang, 46, died in intensive care six days after an unidentified male brought her to an area hospital. She was suffering cardiac arrest, according to the California Statewide Law Enforcement Association.
Josh Michaely, a Las Vegas-area real estate agent who state records list as the point of contact for Joel Michaely Farms, declined to comment to MJBizDaily.
In a statement Saturday, a DCC spokesperson told MJBizDaily that “(t)he recalls and embargos address all potentially contaminated product transferred from the cultivator since licensure.”
“All batches of cannabis or cannabis product that contained material originating from the cultivator were identified using Track and Trace, and were subsequently recalled or placed under embargo,” DCC spokesperson Jordan Traverso said.
However, county planning records indicate that the farm was approved to cultivate nearly 1 million square feet of canopy.
While executing a search warrant at the grow four days after Yufang’s death, law enforcement allegedly discovered
- 55,069 cannabis plants
- 6,000 pounds of processed cannabis
- “Illegal chemicals”
- “Approximately 20,000 gallons of contaminated liquid requiring specialized disposal”
No arrests were reported.
How much cannabis was produced at the California cultivator where a worker died?
The farm’s scale, coupled with the enormous amount of cannabis and toxic material, means the situation could be worse than currently known, said Hirsh Jain, the Los Angeles-based principal of cannabis consulting firm Ananda Strategy.
“A worker died, and we need to understand whether pesticide exposure had anything to do with this tragedy,” he said.
“If workers were being exposed to pesticides or other dangerous chemicals, we need to know what they were exposed to, how long it was happening and what protections were in place.”
“If DCC found this happening at one licensed cultivation operation, it’s fair to ask whether similar practices or contamination issues exist elsewhere in the licensed market,” he added.
What is ‘adulterated cannabis’ under California law?
According to the suspension notice, obtained by MJBizDaily via a public records request, the DCC has “evidence that (the grow) is adulterating cannabis, and selling or transferring adulterated cannabis or cannabis products; and engaging in criminal activity at the licensee’s premises.”
In the DCC’s first visit to the
According to the DCC, alleged violations of state law include:
- Untagged cannabis plants
- Unaccounted-for inventory
- Failure to record activity in state-mandated track-and-trace systems
- Failure to comply with environmental protection and pesticide laws
- Growing “adulterated” cannabis
“These circumstances require immediate action by the Department of Cannabis Control to protect the public health, safety, or welfare and prevent the sale or transfer of illegal cannabis or cannabis products, misrepresentation to the public, and the illegal diversion of cannabis and cannabis products from entering the cannabis market or other criminal activity,” the DCC’s notice reads in part.
Joel Michaely Farms had until the end of business Friday to challenge the charges. In the meantime, all commercial activity there was ordered to cease by 2 p.m. Sept. 8.
Under California state law, conditions that render cannabis considered “adulterated” include contamination with a banned or poisonous substance.
What California cannabis manufacturer allegedly used ‘adulterated cannabis’?
According to the Sept. 9 DCC recall notice, three batches of “Iced Infused Flower” produced by Sacramento-based Natura Manufacturing were made “under unsanitary conditions and the methods, facilities, or controls used to cultivate the cannabis did not conform with pesticide statutes and regulations.”
The products were sold sometime after mid-August at retailers all over the state, the notice said.
Reached via telephone on Friday, Craig Powell, Natura’s cofounder and chief operating officer, said the company could not comment because of a pending investigation but is “fully cooperating” with authorities.
Who owns the California cannabis farm connected to a worker death?
The Joel Michaely Grow is connected to managers with addresses in Las Vegas and in Los Angeles, according to state business records.
Both Joel Michaely and a Joel Michaely Trust are listed as managers or members at the business entity that was issued the state cannabis cultivation permit, business records state.
Joel Michaely is the name of an actor and producer with minor credits in Rules of Attraction and Can’t Hardly Wait.
It’s unclear what the actor’s connection is to the situation.
The grow was first permitted by the state in July 2025. Prior to DCC’s inspection, the agency had not been onsite at the farm since it went into operation, the DCC’s Traverso said.
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How many workers have died in US legal cannabis?
The death is at least the sixth instance of a worker connected to a legal cannabis industry business dying on the job in the U.S.
Two employees of an Oklahoma extraction lab that had lost its state permit died in an explosion there late last month. Authorities have filed murder charges against the Tulsa-area lab’s registered owner.
Two other cultivation workers have died over the past few years after exposure to cannabis dust, considered a respiratory hazard, one in Massachusetts and the other in California.
A sixth worker died in Southern California last year while running from Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a raid at Glass House Farms.
If later connected, Yufang’s death would be the first known instance of a legal industry worker dying from toxic exposure.
“We don’t know yet if that’s what happened here, but the allegations are concerning enough that I think we need to understand exactly what DCC found, and whether there is any reason to think the problem goes beyond this one operator,” Ananda Strategy’s Jain said.
Other states have cracked down on the use of hazardous chemicals at licensed cannabis grows.
In July, two men employed at a licensed medical marijuana grow in Oklahoma were indicted on federal charges for allegedly smuggling in 40 pounds of pesticides from China.
“There are a bunch of other alleged violations in here around track and trace, inventory and general compliance,” Jain added.
“But the pesticide piece is definitely the most concerning.”
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
