Following the passing of Arizona’s Proposition 207, a voter initiative from the November 2020 ballot that legalized cannabis for recreational use in the state, officials needed to usher in new health and safety regulations, in addition to those already in place for medical cannabis. In that, dispensaries and their grow operations are subject to annual compliance inspections and investigations of complaints, and many of the inspections so far revealed some potential growing pains, according to a Phoenix New Times report.
According to state documents released to the Times through a formal public records request, the Arizona Department of Health Services had inspected more than 90 retail sites as of mid-January, though not all records were released. Many of the inspections revealed issues, like violations surrounding the shape of gummies to larger health concerns, like the presence of salmonella in some products.
Ethan Minkin is an attorney at Harris Bricken law firm who advises some cannabis-focused companies about regulatory issues and said that he hasn’t personally seen Arizona assert fines or revoke licenses. “As strange as it may seem, I’ve never gotten down to that level where the state turns around and imposes sanctions,” Minkin said, adding that he’s typically seen the state’s willingness to work with licensees.
Minkin also indicated that, once a department finds an issue during inspection, the cannabis establishment must create a plan to correct it. According to department reports, there were more than 450 correction plans resulting from inspections by mid-January.
Some of these issues are not necessarily brand new, either. According to a department news release, a routine inspection by a Department of Health Services lab in June 2021 resulted in some cannabis products testing positive for salmonella and aspergillus after a third-party lab reported to dispensaries that the products were contaminant-free. The release notes that the suspected contamination ultimately resulted in a voluntary recall.
Sol Flower Dispensary PR Agent Neko Catanzaro said in an email statement that the recall was because of “inconsistencies” in third-party lab processes and results, caused by a “rushed and chaotic rollout of the marijuana testing program.”
She added that they have no reason to believe those products affected by the recall were unsafe, but they voluntarily recalled the products out of an “abundance of caution” and in cooperation with the Department of Health Services (DHS).
In November, salmonella and aspergillus were detected in another routine inspection, which also resulted in a voluntary recall.
