When Missouri cannabis regulators recalled hundreds of marijuana vape pens last month, the Kansas City-based manufacturer said the issue was related to “evolving” testing requirements for licensed facilities. 

But state regulators say the testing rules did not change. And certificates of analysis posted by the company and reviewed by The Independent show the recalled products were tested as bulk THC concentrate — before being loaded into the vape cartridges that state rules require to be tested in finished form.

State rules require manufacturers to test products in the form consumers buy them, not as bulk THC concentrate before packaging.

The recalled products were manufactured by Kansas City’s Local Cannabis Co., whose manufacturing license is listed under CPC of Missouri – Smithville LLC. The Division of Cannabis Regulation’s recall notice says THC concentrate must be sampled and tested after it is processed into vape cartridges — which the division says Local Cannabis did not do.

The company’s COO, Tyler Pugh, said in an emailed statement that Local Cannabis is “actively working with the division to address an administrative hold impacting certain vape products related to evolving testing requirements for final form administration. This matter is not related to the quality or safety of our products.”

Pugh told The Independent the company was previously allowed to test “in bulk,” meaning testing an entire batch of THC concentrate before it is packaged into final products like vapes or cannisters. However, Pugh said the state put out a press release on April 30 for new testing guidance, and the company is working with regulators to make those changes. 

“We are proactively coordinating with our retail partners to replace affected inventory with newly compliant, fully tested products as quickly as possible,” Pugh said. “We appreciate the partnership and patience of our customers and retail partners as we work through the resolution process.”

But Lisa Cox, spokeswoman for the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, which oversees the Division of Cannabis Regulation, said the state did not issue any new testing guidance on April 30. 

The date may be a reference to the publication date for new rules, Cox said, posted on the Secretary of State’s website, which were largely focused on new research licenses. 

“The testing rules did not change on April 30,” she said. 

The Independent attempted to clarify with Pugh, through email and phone calls, exactly what new guidance he was referring to. He did not respond to requests for additional comment. 

Cox said the recall stemmed from another licensee questioning a certificate of analysis they received for a Local Cannabis product. Certificates of analysis, known as COAs, are documents labs provide showing test results and testing methodology.

“DCR determined discrepancies between the COA and the testing results indicated testing was conducted earlier in the manufacturing process than required by rule,” Cox said. “Other affected products were then identified through analysis of track and trace system data.”

Local Cannabis posts COAs on its website, including many of the test results for the recalled products, according to the “testing tag numbers” listed on both the state’s recall list and the posted COAs. 

The COAs reviewed by The Independent show the state’s largest marijuana testing lab, Green Precision Analytics, tested vials of THC concentrate, not vaping cartridges. Green Precision Analytics did not respond to emails and phone calls requesting comment.

Ross Bearman, director of lab operations at Fleur de Lis Analytical Laboratories cannabis testing, which has no connection to either Local Cannabis or Green Precision, said manufacturers have been required to test vapes after they are processed into cartridges since the recreational marijuana program began in 2023. This ensures, he said, that there’s no “leaching” from the cartridges.

Bearman said regulators have told labs that it’s the manufacturing licensees’ responsibility to provide the products in their final form for testing.

The recall has drawn attention in Missouri’s cannabis industry in part because of its timing. 

Less than a month ago, Local Cannabis and another manufacturing licensee called VIBE filed a class-action lawsuit against the state’s largest marijuana company, Good Day Farm, and its nearly 50 affiliates. The two marijuana manufacturers allege a violation of Missouri antitrust laws through price-fixing, supplier-allocation agreements and coordinated conduct meant to consolidate control of the state’s retail marijuana market.

Pugh had no comment on the timeline of the recall and lawsuit. Of the dozens of dispensaries impacted by the recall, three companies are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.