The day after the president of a Connecticut marijuana cultivator told lawmakers that testing-lab standards need improvement, officials from the state Department of Consumer Protection showed up at his business for a surprise inspection.
The compliance check was evidently retaliatory, and in an extraordinary public apology reported Friday by The Connecticut Mirror, the agency’s commissioner, Bryan Cafferelli, admitted that it “should not have happened.”
The situation arose when Rino Ferrarese, the president of Portland-based licensed cultivator Affinity Grow, spoke in favor Wednesday of a proposed state law that would impose new rules on Connecticut’s two marijuana testing labs.
According to the Mirror, Ferrarese testified at a General Assembly hearing that the Connecticut cannabis industry is experiencing “inconsistent testing, inflated costs and regulatory inefficiencies, all without a clear benefit to public health.”
The next day, Department of Consumer Protection (DCP) officials conducted an “unannounced compliance check” at Affinity Grow, the Mirror reported.
Cafferelli told the Hartford-based news outlet that he did not approve or know about the surprise inspection, which he acknowledged has the look and feel of retaliation.
“Everyone should feel safe and comfortable providing testimony at a public hearing without fear of retribution or retaliation, whether they are a member of the general public or a licensee,” according to Cafferelli’s written apology, which was provided to the Mirror.
State lawmakers accepted Cafferelli’s apology while acknowledging that it appears someone at the DCP tried to impose a “chilling effect” with the revenge inspection.
“We think it’s outrageous,” Republican state Rep. Dave Rutigliano told the Mirror.
The situation comes amid increasing scrutiny of cannabis testing labs and widespread allegations that regulators are allowing laboratories to produce untrustworthy results that erode public confidence and put consumers at risk.
