More testing issues in Alaska's cannabis business world

The co-owner (Ms. Neade) of the canna business referenced in the excerpt from the article linked below, taught English to my two older children years ago.

There's been some degree of SNAFU recently involving two of Alaska's cannabis testing facilities coming up with what appears to be very different potency results for cannabis products; one business determining samples of pot are notably more potent than the other lab's results claim.

It now appears that this issue is going in a new and different direction, confronting allegations that some of the producers/manufacturers of edibles are not testing properly.

One issue I noted in the article is that the Control Board states there are 20 different products involved in this one company's product line of edibles, and they're testing ONE at the moment, stating that the results of this one test will not resolve ALL of the concerns.

If they keep the edibles off-line for the duration, and only test ONE product at a time, with 20 different products to be tested, they could effectively deprive these folks of income from this part of their business for over a month.

That seems a bit hostile and unnecessary to me. I hope that's not what they have in mind. I hope this is a misinterpretation on my part, or a case of information being left out of the story.

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-company-accused-of-skimping-on-marijuana-testing/article_899861fc-d994-11e7-9899-17caa7256b18.html

Fairbanks company accused of skimping on marijuana testing

Amanda Bohman abohman@newsminer.com
<time datetime="2017-12-05T00:00:00-09:00">Dec 5, 2017 </time>Updated <time datetime="2017-12-05T07:55:35-09:00">13 hrs ago</time>
FAIRBANKS — Production of Stoner S’mores, Plain Jane Cookies and Cannacrisp, a marijuana-infused rice crispy treat, is on hold while one of Alaska’s largest marijuana edible manufacturers, Fairbanks-based Frozen Budz, is investigated on suspicion of neglecting to have its products tested.
The state Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office issued a consumer alert last week, warning people that Frozen Budz edibles might be more potent than the labels suggest.
“The products are labeled as having 5 mg of THC per serving, but in reality, each serving may have a great deal more THC,” said Erika McConnell, director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, in a prepared statement.
On Monday, the Alaska Marijuana Control Board upheld a suspension of Frozen Budz’s manufacturing license while AMCO completes its investigation, McConnell said in an email.
Frozen Budz is the second company in Alaska to have its license suspended and the first Fairbanks-area company since the Marijuana Control Board began issuing licenses in 2016.
Frozen Budz co-owner Destiny Neade denies the allegation. Neade is cooperating with the investigation and has hired a lawyer, McConnell said.

-----------------------------------------SNIP-----------------------------------

.. And after reading the article, I told my wife that I'd wager there will be all kinds of people previously unaware of Frozen Budz edibles, specifically trying to get ahold of the items alleged to have 'too much THC' in them.

How are testing regs supposed to work in AK?
In other words...
Is the reported 5%THC a minimum or a maximum allowable threshold?

From what I understand, in CO, Rec edibles cannot be more than 10mg THCA per serving (a max threshold) while medical can be way than 10% THCA more per serving.

Just curious.

Not sure what their allowable maximum is on potency in edibles.

Producers (whether ganja or edibles, or extracts) are supposed to engage in 'regular testing' (I assume based on volume produced over time).

In the earlier referenced issues for which I didn't post the articles, we had the two labs in the State coming up with very different numbers for what amounted more or less to the same samples/plant material.

While no one really overtly pointed fingers of wrong-doing, one person speaking on behalf of the control board indicated that the numbers were frequent enough in disparity, and the errors (if errors they be) were all more or less one-sided enough, to cause them to believe this was not a coincidence.

The spokesperson then commented further re. the benefits of having cannabis on the market labeled as having higher THC than what it contains. Wholesale buyers purchasing product rated at a higher %, because many of the retail customers want more bang for their buck.. More THC for the same or close to same $$.

In the article posted/linked above, I believe the allegations are two-fold; that testing was not done frequently enough, and that potencies are higher than listed.

I wondered if someone engaged in a first-time experience didn't eat something and find themselves frighteningly high, and/or, if some testing on a sample didn't show the edibles as having significantly higher THC than stated on the package. Or both.

It reminded me of the story a few years back of the cop and his wife who stole some weed from the evidence room, made brownies that were apparently uber-potent, and called 911, saying they had over-dosed on the brownies, thought they were dying, then, in the middle of the emergency call, asked the dispatcher if she knew what the score of the game was (True story!! Had me laughing for a long time. Still laugh when I think about it.. )

MJPassion said:

How are testing regs supposed to work in AK?
In other words...
Is the reported 5%THC a minimum or a maximum allowable threshold?

From what I understand, in CO, Rec edibles cannot be more than 10mg THCA per serving (a max threshold) while medical can be way than 10% THCA more per serving.

Just curious.

Click to expand...

Thanks for their extras.

That last part is hilarious!

Per today's local paper, things do not seem to be improving for Frozen Budz...

I found myself wondering, if this waltz becomes terminal for them, considering the anally retentive nature of our school board and administration, what are the odds that someone who quit teaching to grow, manufacture, and sell cannabis products, can be well received back into that profession.. Not that I have any clue of her intending that.

Not to mention the serious trimming of budgets in the State's schools at the moment, as our economy here continues to plummet.

I've included an excerpt of the article this time, as it's not apparently an AP release, but rather local.

There's a link for the remainder of the story, but it doesn't look good for these folks.

--- --- --- --- ---


https://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/fairbanks-maker-of-marijuana-edibles-faces-more-charges/article_14d13326-e0b5-11e7-89ae-ab4097a980f6.html

Fairbanks maker of marijuana edibles faces more charges

FAIRBANKS — Alaska’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office has expanded allegations of major violations in connection with marijuana edibles from a Fairbanks manufacturer.

Frozen Budz’s product manufacturing license was suspended Dec. 1 after allegations of excessive THC levels in their edibles, and a Tuesday press release detailed five new charges.

The business also has a retail license and continues to sell marijuana flowers. Until the suspension, Frozen Budz’s edibles had been available throughout the state, particularly in Southcentral and the Interior.

The new allegations say Frozen Budz has sold edibles contaminated with mold, used untracked marijuana, made products not approved by the marijuana control board, allowed onsite consumption and sold more than 114,000 untested edible marijuana products. The original investigation stemmed from a tip about a specific product, CannaBanana Bread. Industry regulations state samples must be selected from each production lot for testing.

-----------------------------------------snip-------------------------------------

The new allegations say Frozen Budz has sold edibles contaminated with mold, used untracked marijuana, made products not approved by the marijuana control board, allowed onsite consumption and sold more than 114,000 untested edible marijuana products.
Yuck! No thanks, no matter the increased thc.

I agree, assuming the charges are well founded, and not a 'hit job' on the business based in something else.

I believe there's still a couple 'clearing houses' in Ak operating as <allegedly> 'medical distributors' who seem to have skirted the laws re. cannabis biz licensing, and who have been alleged in the past to handle unlicensed growers' products. I can't swear to this, other than having SOME of the history, with limited interactions.

Bottom line is that if someone is distributing untested products, whether through licensed or unlicensed production, or licensed or unlicensed distribution, such as is indicated in "untracked cannabis", then there's a chance that some amount of molds, etc., are getting past people lungs/intestines.

There's been minimally audible discussion that I've heard re. slipping unlicensed products into the stream through licensed vendors, and there are several ways to make this less than overtly apparent, but the licensed entity risks ALL KINDS of losses in the event it's discovered and receives formal consequences.

"It's a brave new world..."</allegedly>

I didn't bother to copy and paste links or verbage, but the latest, as of about 2 days ago, is that Frozen Budz is being fined $500,000.00 (OUCH!!!), their "license frozen" (I don't think the paper was sarcastically expressing a double-entendre, but who knows), and it seems they are headed for the "Sorry, We're no Longer In Business" signs on their door(s).

It may be the last development is premature in my assessment, but I'm pretty sure that was the gist of the article.

Shame, too.

With so much money on the table, so much potential, such a growing client base for what amounts to some degree as a specialty market, and the competition in the plain-Jane growing and retail flower-marketing areas taking such a step up right now, leading to lowering of prices and increased competition, they had what is/was a pretty solid share of what is more of a niche market. And despite infractions, they were apparently pretty good at it.

The old rule still applies; if your keister is hanging out, due to black market or other illegal actions, making enemies is a bad move. It seems some of this began with a former employee. If you're bending rules, try to treat -everyone- around you well.. The bite can be serious, otherwise.

Testing will always be an issue because there are different types of tests, some that will say products are significantly more potent. It was a big issue in Washington state bud samples were testing ridiculously high, well over 30%. It was obvious the samples weren't that strong. Along with this problem there were corrupt testing facilities, you could negotiate to get your product tested stronger.
The other big flaw I see with testing is that THC results can vary dramatically in cannabis. I'd guess that even on a single plant there is variation and I know there is crop to crop and plant to plant. If you're making edibles from ganja of varying potency it's not possible to make a uniformly stably potent product like what's expected by modern food safety standards. I'd guess they were saving money on testing which is a bad move.
I know that it is possible to test positive for mold on ganja where there is no visible mold. I know a guy who had flowers tested recently that tested positive for mold on outdoor. He grows in the partial shade near a forest, otherwise his stuff looked fine. I know if you are tossing a couple moldy buds from your harvest the whole batch will probably fail to pass the test. The only way to be sure is with regular testing, once again it's a bad move to skimp.

Yep, though the #s, disparity, and consistency of one lab testing differently than another ruled out probability happenstance outcomes; leaning more toward either differences in testing techniques, or a 'thumb on the scale' sort of thing. Like the unlikely nature of flipping a penny 50 times and having it come up heads each time.

Re. the allegations of using untracked weed in edibles, (i.e., implying black market weed being slipped in through the proverbial side-door), while likely an impressive cost-saving strategy on the calculator, I'm betting that in all of this, in light of the severity of the fine involved, they're wishing things had been played differently.

$500,000.00 sends a really strong message to other licensed folks; no room what so ever for screwing around with fringe ideas.

Taking away someone's income AND levying a half-million dollar fine creates an interesting conundrum. Like, "How are we gonna' pay that now??!!"