Allegations of rules violations against an Oklahoma City-based medical cannabis testing laboratory have resulted in a suspended license as state regulators have recalled 99 products.
The Oklahoma Commissioner of Health issued an emergency order May 20, temporality suspending Scale Laboratories’ testing license in connection with the alleged violations after three inspections by the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority (OMMA) last month.
Scale is the trade name for Shiv Krupa LLC, OMMA License No. LAAA-C8NH-JZ02.
In addition to the suspended license, OMMA officials issued the 99-product recall May 19 for medical cannabis products related to the lab’s alleged violations. That recall includes flower, concentrates/extracts, infused prerolls, trim, vape cartridges, ice water hash and live rosin.
The full list of the 99 products with batch IDs is available here.
“We are first and foremost concerned about the health, safety and welfare of patients who might consume harmful marijuana products,” OMMA Executive Director Adria Berry said in a news release.
“Let this serve as a warning to any licensee attempting to skirt state laws: We work diligently behind the scenes to find and take down the bad actors within this industry,” Berry said. “If you’re engaging in actions that threaten the health and safety of Oklahomans, you won’t get away with it. Our inspection teams are working across the state to keep Oklahomans safe by identifying problems and gathering the necessary evidence to help shut down bad actors that choose to break the law.”
Health Commissioner Keith Reed’s emergency order came after OMMA inspections at Scale on April 12, April 13 and April 20. A review of Scale’s records by OMMA officials allegedly found testing violations that pose a threat to “public health, safety and (or) welfare,” according to the release.
According to Reed’s order, Scale:
- Reported passing test results to licensees on 138 samples that failed tests for yeast and mold. Scale also reported passing test results to licensees for nine samples that failed testing for aspergillus, five samples that failed testing for E. coli and one sample that failed testing for salmonella;
- Did not use appropriate procedures or recordkeeping for testing for microbiological contamination, pesticides or heavy metals;
- Did not use appropriate quality control methods;
- Manipulated testing data; and
- Routinely deviated from its standard operating procedures.
Scale did not notify or provide copies of certificates of analysis (COAs) to OMMA officials when the 138 failed testing samples exceeded allowable thresholds for microbials, according to the emergency order.
“Based on the OMMA inspection and subsequent review of Respondent’s records, when a subset of samples failed testing by exceeding allowable thresholds for microbials, Respondent performed a single retest and, if that retest passed testing, reported the result as passing without conducting a second retest,” the order states, before listing several more determinations used to make the order.
OMMA officials alerted 33 businesses May 19, informing them of the 99 products included in the recall, according to the authority’s release.
The growers and processors who received the recall notice are required to inform dispensaries that bought the recalled products. OMMA rules require dispensaries to contact patients who purchased the recalled products.
Patients in possession of a recalled product are advised by OMMA officials to return it to the dispensary from where they purchased it.
