Michigan Officials Recall Caregivers’ Medical Cannabis

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]H[/dropcap]ealth officials in Michigan are concerned after identifying more than 50 pounds of potentially contaminated medical cannabis, the majority of which was produced in caregiver facilities in Detroit, Lansing, Jackson, Kalamazoo and Ypsilanti. The tainted products were mostly flower, concentrate, patches and tinctures, which contained chemical residue, E. coli, arsenic, cadmium and/or salmonella.

The registered caregiver facilities responsible for the contaminated products had been in business and supplying medical cannabis to their loyal customers for over a decade. The medical Marijuana Licensing Board, worried about a supply shortage is allowing licensed facilities to purchase these caregivers produced products till March 31.  

Patients have to sign a release if they decide to purchase these caregiver-produced cannabis  said David Harns, a spokesman for the state Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. “The products will not be required to have met state testing standards, so patients need to understand that fact and assume the potential risk that the products may present,” Harns said, adding that patients can have the products inspected at a safety compliance facility.

The Michigan Coalition of Independent Cannabis Testing Laboratories, which consists of testing facilities, growers and processors, stated that the selective implementation of this safety measure doesn’t ensure access to safe medical cannabis. “Under this new ruling, Michigan’s most vulnerable patients are buying purported medical cannabis products that could legitimately harm them,” the group said in a statement.

Josh Hovey, a spokesman for the Michigan Cannabis Industry Association, said that many caregivers willingly allowed their products to be examined before the state implemented mandatory testing. “This is especially true for those that were serving pediatric patients and patients with autoimmune deficiencies,” Hovey told The Associated Press.

Jamie Lowell of Americans for Safe Access said that she thinks that the state responded accordingly to the issue at hand. “I agree that people should not be consuming things with contaminants in them, but just because a couple [of] things showed up in this testing, you cannot label all caregiver product as being bad for consumers,” Lowell said.