A New Orleans-based company is suing the state of Louisiana, claiming that its application to be an independent medical cannabis testing laboratory was improperly rejected.
The lack of an independent testing lab is the latest development to delay Louisiana’s medical marijuana program, which was initially expected to become operational in late 2018.
The suit was filed by Reactwell, doing business as Certified Cannabis, against the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, according to The Advocate in Baton Rouge.
An independent lab is supposed to test the marijuana cultivated by Louisiana’s two approved growers to ensure the crop’s safety.
But the state agency recently said that no laboratories were qualified.
The lawsuit argues that Certified Cannabis was qualified.
The suit also said the state began testing marijuana itself after rejecting testing lab proposals.
The lawsuit claims the regulatory agency’s testing marks an “irreconcilable conflict of interest with its role in supervising a third-party independent testing lab,” according to The Advocate.
A state spokeswoman said the regulatory agency hasn’t yet seen the lawsuit.
– Associated Press and Marijuana Business Daily
