Nevada Cannabis Regulators Suspend Cultivator’s Licenses

A Nevada cannabis cultivation and production licensee is facing trouble after state regulators say they discovered a litany of deficiencies at its facility in Esmeralda County in the southwestern portion of the state.

The Hempire Co. LLC had its adult-use and medical cannabis cultivation and production licenses summarily suspended Nov. 1 by the Nevada Cannabis Control Board (CCB), which cited a threat to public health and safety.

While investigating “suspicious” track-and-trace activity via the state’s compliance tracking system Metrc, CCB agents said they found cannabis extract outputs which exceeded the amount of cannabis utilized at the facility.

“CCB agents determined failed or untested cannabis may have been combined with passing lots and sent to extraction,” according to a press release by the regulatory body. In other words, cannabis that went untracked in Metrc was potentially combined with cannabis that was properly tracked in the system, according to CCB.

The CCB agents also said they discovered approximately 180 packages missing from cultivation, 10 packages missing from production, and two “large bags” of usable cannabis in a dumpster.

“There were no working cameras in the greenhouses, conex boxes, or other areas where cannabis was being grown and dried,” according to the CCB release. “Cannabis was observed drying outside and in a conex box with no environmental controls. Board agents cited other significant deficiencies at the facility.”

The Hempire Co., one of 143 licensed adult-use cultivators in the state, is required to submit a corrective action plan in order for its suspended licenses to potentially be reinstated and is unable to resume operations until state regulators confirm the deficiencies they outlined have been corrected.

This marks the second summary suspension the CCB issued this year. The other was issued in January to the medical and adult-use cultivation and production licenses held by Helping Hands Wellness Center Inc. located in North Las Vegas.