Massachusetts cannabis businesses fined for pesticide, ownership infractions

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Three marijuana cultivation companies in Massachusetts will pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines for pesticide use and other violations.

The state’s Cannabis Control Commission approved penalties against Garden Remedies, Healthy Pharms and The Botanist, MassLive.com reported.

Each company agreed to settlements, complied with the commission’s inquiries and admitted to the wrongdoing.

The fines are all much steeper than some handed out only last year.

Garden Remedies was fined $200,000 on Thursday for using pesticides and lying about it. The company has also been told to cease and desist using pesticides not labeled for use in growing marijuana and will be on probation for two years.

Health Pharms was fined $350,000 for using unlawful pesticides, including misusing hydrogen peroxide and not correctly operating the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system, Metrc.

The company has been told to cease and desist using pesticides and hire an employee versed in using Metrc. Health Pharms will be on probation for two years.

The Botanist, which is owned by New York-based multistate cannabis company Acreage Holdings, was fined $250,000 for violating regulations around ownership and control.

The commission found that, under rules that went into effect Nov. 1, The Botanist and Acreage didn’t disclose contractual arrangements Acreage had made with other cannabis companies in the state.