Candid Labs, doing business as Layercake Farms 2, in Corunna, Michigan, had its license suspended by the state of Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency after investigators found cannabis products in bags, plants, and jars that had not been recorded in the state’s tracking system.
According to the formal complaint filed by the agency, agency personnel visited the medical growing facility of Candid Labs to discuss the failure of the facility’s video surveillance system. Upon entering the video control room, they saw that 38 of the cameras were not functioning.
It was reported in the complaint that while CRA personnel were able to view some video footage, this film frequently cut to a blank screen for extended periods of time. Multiple agency visits to Candid Labs’ 1850 Parmenter Road grow operation and processing facility revealed unlabeled marijuana plants inside a van on the property.
Trash bags stuffed to the brim with marijuana products, and unlabeled jars labeled “Labyrinth Xtracts Ultra Fine Distillate Oil” and “Hempire State Growers Hudson Valley New York” filled with what appeared to be cannabis concentrates.
The CRA interrogated Candid Labs’ workers about the distillate’s origin, and they indicated the distillate was made from biomass (the leftover leaves, stalks, and stems on a cannabis plant). However, the CRA’s testing showed that the distillate could not have been made from biomass.
The company, Candid Labs, was unable to explain the discrepancy, the press statement states. “The conduct charged in the formal complaints is a risk to public health and safety and must not happen in Michigan’s regulated marijuana sector and market,” said Brian Hanna, executive director of the CRA, in a news release on Friday.
A spokesperson from Candid Labs did not respond to a request for comment submitted through email on Friday afternoon. Candid Labs’ product brand names and distribution channels were unknown as of Friday afternoon. The Free Press was unable to locate the processor’s official website or any products branded with its name on any third-party retailers’ websites.
The CRA’s David Harns said in response to a question about how customers can tell which products are made by Candid Labs: “While the CRA has no authority to recall product from the illicit market, Michigan cannabis customers can be assured that if we have any evidence that untested or unsafe product has made its way to consumers in the regulated market, we would make that known.”
The Candid Labs suspension follows a similar move by the CRA in November when it canceled Green Culture, a marijuana store in Flint. After conducting tests, the government agency revealed that some of the items offered at Green Culture included unsafe amounts of banned pesticides, heavy metals, mildew, and germs, prompting a recall.
