Falsified Reports Compel Cannabis Testing Lab to Surrender Testing License

Sequoia Analytical Labs, a Sacramento, California-based cannabis testing facility admitted to fabricating hundreds of pesticide testing records, and they are taking full accountability for what happened.

“This was a gut punch completely,” said Steven Dutra, general manager for Sequoia Analytical Lab. Dutra said he was shocked to learn that the lab results from his pesticide testing machines were forged. He reported that Marc Foster, a former lab director, paid them a surprise visit last week and admitted to all the wrongdoing.  “When they asked the lab director where his data came from. He honestly told them, ‘I faked it.’ The fake data from the former lab director involved 22 out of the 66 pesticides for which cannabis is typically tested. More than 700 lab results over a four-month period are now under discussion,” Dutra added.

Sequoia immediately fired Foster and then voluntarily surrendered its temporary testing license to the state’s Bureau of Cannabis Control. “We’re going to be taking a look at suspending or possibly revoking their permit,” said Joe Devlin, Sacramento’s chief of cannabis enforcement.

This lack of testing labs will likely affect the cannabis industry especially of late, when the demand for cannabis products continues to surge.

The Bureau of Cannabis Control hasn’t committed to recalling any of the cannabis. Sequoia Analytical Labs offered to pay for any additional testing. “We would like to see those samples be released to another lab and tested very quickly for pesticides,” Dutra said. “Again, if there’s any product that’s harmful, we want to know right away.” Dutra said typically, only about three percent of all cannabis samples tested actually fail due to pesticides and brushed off any worries about the scandal.

Sequoia has hired a replacement lab director already. The company is hoping that its license gets reinstated and they get back on their feet by January, next year.  There are 44 cannabis pesticide testing labs in California, and four in Sacramento. In January, they will be required to start testing for toxins. Devlin said that California needs more testing labs. “The shortage of labs has really created a bottleneck in the supply chain across the state.”