(This story has been updated with a comment from Naked Extracts.)
Oregon regulators pulled marijuana vape products off retailers’ shelves because they allegedly contained cannabis-derived terpenes imported from California.
The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), which regulates the state’s licensed recreational marijuana market, issued a health and safety recall for marijuana vaping products sold under the “Naked Extracts” and “Native” labels.
According to an OLCC news release, an investigation found Naked Extracts had been using marijuana-derived terpenes produced and distributed by True Blue, a company based in California.
The use of marijuana-derived ingredients, including terpenes, sourced from non-OLCC licensed businesses is prohibited under Oregon law and OLCC rules.
According to the OLCC, the licensee also admitted to adding the marijuana terpenes to Naked Extracts and Native products after the products were tested for potency, pesticides and solvents.
All final (consumer ready) products sold into Oregon’s regulated cannabis market are required to be tested.
The OLCC said it notified Naked Extracts about the investigation on May 6, 2021, and gave the company an opportunity to issue a voluntary recall until the probe was completed and the matter resolved.
The company did not pull the products during the two-week period, so the OLCC issued the mandatory recall.
“Naked Extracts is currently weighing its response to OLCC’s unprecedented actions that appear to be designed not to protect consumers or the industry, but to punish Naked Extracts for standing up for its rights and questioning OLCC’s heavy-handed tactics,” Connie Harrell, CEO and president of the company, wrote in a statement.