Oklahoma regulators suspended a major medical cannabis processor in the state for public-health and safety violations, including failing to accurately track products.
After a July 29 inspection at Graves Farm Organics operation in Manchester, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) issued the suspension and product embargo, the agency said in a Friday news release.
The order came nearly two months after regulators issued a product recall for several Graves Farm products that contained the pesticides permethrin or spiromesifen.
The most recent OMMA charges against the company include:
- Unsanitary and unsafe conditions at its processing plant.
- Failing to accurately track wholesale medical marijuana.
- Failing to list tagged products as inventory.
- Law violations related to producing and testing product batches after they had already been tested.
“There is no room in Oklahoma’s medical marijuana program for operators who disregard the law and endanger public health and safety,” OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry said in a statement.
“We work diligently behind the scenes so patients can trust the marijuana they purchase at dispensaries has been properly tested and is safe for consumption. Regulations are in place for a reason. … ”
The ramifications will likely affect the marketplace and product supply.
“I would say thousands and thousands, at least, have used Graves Farm’s products,” Corbin Wyatt, owner of Likewise Cannabis, told Oklahoma City TV station KOCO.
Falsifying product testing, particularly certificates of analysis and failing to track regulated products within the supply chain are a growing issue within the U.S. cannabis industry. For example:
- In Michigan, there have been recent breaches involving the illegal import of THCA from another state.
- In California, a pesticide scandal continues to plague the industry.
