Alaska Cannabis Board Revokes License of Edibles Maker

On Friday, the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office board voted to revoke the license of Anchorage-based Frozen Budz and charge the company with a $500,000 fine. The incident marks the first time that Alaska state cannabis regulators have revoked a license.

Frozen Budz is being accused of engaging in testing violations, improper labeling, operating out of compliance, producing unapproved products and failing to track the source of its products.

Members of the  Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office board hope other businesses will learn by example. “It’s a new industry, it’s a new process for us, so we haven’t anything of this magnitude,” Mark Springer, a member of the marijuana board, told the Associated Press. “I really hope that the rest of the industry and people who are considering joining the industry will view this as the board and the office meaning business.”

It’s been an unfortunate month overall for Frozen Budz. The same company lost its manufacturing license when the board suspended it on December 1. State regulators elaborated later, saying the company was allowing onsite consumption, selling over 114,000 untested edibles and selling moldy cannabis-infused products. Frozen Budz co-owner Nick Neade acknowledged that his company isn’t “perfect.”

The whole fiasco started when a tip was reported about the quality of CannaBanana Bread, which attracted the attention of state regulators. Many of Frozen Budz other products can be found in dispensaries across the state.

The company, however, will have a shot on appealing the board’s decision with the Alaska Supreme Court.

The decision to revoke the license must be approved by an administrative law judge, then return back to the board to be adopted, modified or rejected.

Beyond Alaska, state cannabis programs across the board have been cracking down on testing violations, especially in edible products.