Michigan judge nixes request to reinstate recall of contaminated cannabis

A Michigan judge denied a request from state regulators to reinstate a recall of contaminated cannabis.

According to MLive.com, the Court of Claims rejected the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency’s request.

The ruling comes weeks after the agency’s massive Nov. 17 recall, which was then partially lifted by Court of Claims Judge Christopher Murray on Dec. 3 after some of the product was retested.

Partially lifting the recall meant  that roughly 75% of the contaminated cannabis went back on the market.

In its Dec. 16 motion asking the judge to reconsider, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) argued that the judge’s ruling required the agency to release some of the cannabis that failed testing and that potentially harmful marijuana could be sold without consumers’ knowledge.

According to court filings, Viridis Laboratories, the focus of the recall, said the total amount of the first recall was nearly 64,000 pounds, worth $239 million, and the products were on the shelves of 403 retailers.

After the first recall, Viridis filed a lawsuit against the MRA claiming the product recall was “unjustified, prejudiced and retaliatory” against its labs.

State regulators started watching Viridis after it was allegedly reporting higher-than-average THC potency test results, MLive.com reported.