An earlier version of the story was published in The Montague Reporter.

Behind the scenes of the state’s recent announcement that some marijuana products sold at local dispensaries could be contaminated with yeast and mold is a legal battle between laboratories fighting over testing methods and standards. 

One cannabis testing laboratory is suing eight of its competitors, alleging they are manipulating test results, while the state Cannabis Control Commission reconsiders testing policies and standards for the industry.

On Feb. 3, the CCC issued a health and safety advisory — but not a recall — warning that some cannabis products sold at local dispensaries could be contaminated with high levels of yeast and mold. The products passed initial safety assessments, the advisory said, but follow-up testing showed the presence of mold and yeast above the CCC’s acceptable limits.

No illnesses related to the consumption of tainted weed have been reported to the CCC, which advises anyone who experiences adverse health effects to seek medical attention and notify the retailer.

“The [CCC] is committed to overseeing a safe, equitable, and effective cannabis market, which includes adapting and responding to changing trends in the industry to uphold public health and safety,” CCC spokesperson Neal McNamara told The Shoestring. 

The CCC published a list of 32 dispensaries statewide where potentially contaminated products were sold, as well as the brands, strains, and batch numbers of the affected flower and pre-rolled joints. The affected products have been pulled from shelves, and consumers have been advised to dispose of any they have left, but the advisory does not mention refunds.

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Two of the four affected brands, Garcia Hand Picked and Strane, are owned by the Washington, DC-based company Holistic Industries, whose Liberty Cannabis dispensaries in Easthampton, Springfield, and Somerville were also affected by the health advisory. The company asserts that the health advisory was the result of “infighting” in Massachusetts between independent cannabis testing laboratories.

“Although all recalled product previously passed the CCC-mandated testing before being sold and, as the CCC notice said, there have been zero reports of any consumer health issues, we are honoring the product recall,” Kyle Crossley, general counsel for Holistic Industries, said in a statement. “[T]he circumstances that led to this product recall shed light on the need for standardized testing methodologies and the negative impact the lab infighting, and the CCC’s choice to side with certain labs without making formal rule changes, has on operators, consumers and the entire cannabis program.”

Last April, Holistic reached a $200,000 settlement with the CCC over mold allegedly present in a cannabis growing facility it owns in Monson, affecting products grown from 2020 to 2022. As part of the settlement, the CCC alleged that Holistic “knew that at least some of the product from its facility that was sold to the public smelled and tasted like mold, despite having passed PCR testing.”

The commission conducted an unannounced inspection of the Monson facility in October, according to Crossley, and found “zero traces of mold.” 

On Jan. 23, however, Holistic was informed that some of its products were removed from shelves after failing post-market testing. The follow-up tests used the “plate count testing” method, rather than the “qPCR” testing method used by the independent labs Holistic had contracted with. The CCC accepts both methodologies.

As part of its settlement with Holistic last year, the CCC alleged that an employee at the company, amid its previous mold infestation, determined that PCR testing “would likely result in Marijuana passing testing, whereas Plate Assay testing would likely result in Marijuana failing testing.”

“Holistic knowingly requested PCR testing in multiple instances to help ensure product would get to market,” the settlement alleged.

As part of the settlement agreement, Holistic neither confirmed nor denied any of the allegations contained in it.

The CCC adopted testing protocols developed by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which set an acceptable limit of 10,000 “colony-forming units” of yeast or mold per gram of cannabis. Other states have much higher limits, including Connecticut, where the upper limit is 100,000 colony-forming units. The CCC is currently reevaluating testing protocols, and on April 1 will implement a new administrative order requiring cannabis businesses to send sample products to one laboratory for analysis, instead of multiple labs.

“The administrative order is one of several tools the agency is using to update testing guidelines as the legal marketplace expands,” McNamara said. “In addition, the Commission has committed to meet with [independent laboratories] on a regular basis, started publishing testing results to the Commission’s Open Data Platform, and continued to communicate to licensees through bulletins regarding duplicate samples for testing and other matters.”

“Lab Shopping” Lawsuit

According to Holistic Industries, the CCC retested the previously approved products in response to one firm, the Framingham-based MCR Labs, “pushing for” its preferred methodology to be adopted as a state standard.

On January 25, MCR Labs filed a lawsuit against eight competing firms, claiming they were engaging in “intentional interference with advantageous business relations” and “unjust enrichment.” MCR’s suit alleges its competitors manipulated the results of quality-control tests to minimize the presence of yeast, mold, lead, and pesticides, and additionally exaggerated the potency of products.

“The Massachusetts cannabis industry is rife with a practice commonly known as ‘lab shopping,’ where cultivators determine which labs provide the most favorable results (regardless of their empirical validity) and engage those labs for compliance testing contracts and business relationships,” the suit alleges. “This race-to-the-bottom willingness to manipulate testing also results in unknowing consumers overpaying for lower-potency cannabis riddled with dangerous contaminants.”

MCR Labs did not return a request for comment.

Holistic maintains that its products were tested and compliant with the CCC’s rules, and argues that the agency’s move to “side with certain labs without making formal rule changes” could negatively impact the industry in the state. 

“We are seriously concerned that the CCC, by undermining its own regulation that testing results are valid for one year, has opened the floodgates to the filing of complaints for nefarious reasons,” Crossley wrote. “This could further destabilize the Massachusetts cannabis industry as operators face constant recalls.”

Under the settlement agreement between Holistic and the CCC, the company was required to use A-to-Z Labs, one of the defendants named in the lawsuit. 

The Holyoke-based Analytics Labs is another laboratory named in the lawsuit. In a statement sent to The Shoestring, the business asserted its commitment to scientific integrity and public safety.

“While our team reviews recent claims raised by an industry competitor, which we staunchly dispute, we remain focused on our core mission: protecting consumer safety and advancing industry standards through science-based testing and education,” the statement said. “We go beyond standard testing protocols by conducting multiple rounds of analysis on product samples, often performing duplicate and triplicate testing to ensure absolute accuracy and consistency in our results.”

Analytics Labs was the first cannabis testing laboratory in Massachusetts to offer consultation services, which the company says is a collaborative way that it “works directly with producers to optimize their processes and enhance product quality.”

“By sharing our scientific expertise, we help producers understand and improve their processes, ultimately leading to safer, higher-quality products for consumers,” Analytics Labs statement said. “Looking ahead, we are committed to continuing our work alongside regulatory bodies, industry partners, and producers to further optimize testing processes, procedures, and standards and promote understanding of best practices in cannabis safety.”

Exposure to mold in cannabis can cause serious health complications, especially for medical patients, according to the CCC. Symptoms to look out for include cough, fever, shortness of breath, and chest pain.

The CCC’s advisory explains that “the affected products are subject to further investigation by the Commission and would be subject to confirmatory retesting and passing results before the products can be made available to the public.”

The presence of mold can also be a health hazard to cannabis workers who come in contact with it.

 Workers who spend all day cutting, processing, and packaging these products have raised concerns about mold in their workplaces both in Massachusetts and other states across the county.

Other western Massachusetts dispensaries named on the list as having sold potentially contaminated products by Holistic include Enlight Cannabis in Northampton, 253 Farmacy in Montague, Smoky Leaf in Greenfield, HiBrid in Pittsfield, 6 Brick’s in Springfield, and the Great Barrington Dispensary.

A second group of possibly contaminated products, sold under the strains Slap N Tickle and Tiger’s Eye, were reportedly sold at Indica Cannabis in Adams, Liberty Cannabis in Springfield, and the Bud Barn in Winchendon.