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California regulators canceled the license of a marijuana testing lab that allegedly faked test results and tampered with equipment so it could offer passing test results to cannabis products potentially contaminated with dangerous pesticides and mold.
Northridge-based California Cannabis Testing Labs was first discovered to have “engaged in activity that poses a threat to public health” by the state Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) in February 2022, according to documents obtained by MJBizDaily.
The July 24 notice from DCC Deputy Director Michael Cheng lists 20 alleged violations uncovered at California Cannabis Testing Labs (CCTL).
The DCC’s decision to cancel CCTL’s license was first reported by WeedWeek.
According to the letter, the DCC canceled the lab’s provisional license and denied its application for an annual license.
Alleged violations include:
“Deliberately” faking bench sheet records for pesticides and mycotoxins.
Retesting samples to produce “false and artificially inflated levels of THC.”
Manipulating lab equipment to be unable to detect solvents and pesticides identified as cancer risks by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
CCTL’s laboratory director, who was not identified in the DCC’s letter, also allegedly signed a certificate of analysis (COA) for a cannabis product that reported no detection of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.
But a test conducted later by the state “on samples collected from the same batch” found nearly 600 times the amount of chlorfenapyr allowed under state law, according to the DCC.
CCTL’s owners – listed as Roger Chivukula, Krishna Chivukula and Melissa Mabe – did not immediately return an MJBizDaily email seeking comment.
Calls to the phone number listed on the lab’s website went to a voicemail that was full.
Lab plans to fight back
Under state law, CCTL can request a hearing to contest the findings.
DCC spokesperson David Hafner told MJBizDaily that CCTL “has requested an ex parte hearing regarding the status of their license.”
The agency “plans to oppose the ex parte application and does not have any additional comment at this time,” Hafner said in an emailed statement.
CCTL’s license, which state records indicate was first issued in July 2019, was listed as canceled in a state database on Friday.
Lab-tested product later recalled
It’s not immediately clear how many products tested by CCTL were later sold to California consumers.
The letter notes three recalls in March, May and June of this year were for cannabis products the lab had passed that were later found to be tainted with the mold aspergillus.
Mandatory recalls issued July 17 for vaporizer cartridges sold beginning last fall cited “presence of the pesticide chlorfenapyr.”
While the July recall notices do not identify any involved labs, the DCC’s letter to the owners of CCTL note that “the Department initiated a commercial cannabis batch recall on July 17, 2024, due to the presence of the pesticide Chlorfenapyr which the Applicant inaccurately reported on the COA as ‘non-detected.'”
The recalls and subsequent license cancellation come at a time when the industry is facing increased concern over testing, including allegations of THC potency inflation and deliberate manipulation of test results across the industry.
“We’ve been saying this forever,” said Josh Swider, the co-founder and CEO of Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, based in the San Diego area.
“The DCC is doing something,” he added. “They’re not going to allow this s*** to go on anymore.”
List of violations
Other violations of state law alleged in Cheng’s letter include:
Sampling from only 3,000 vaporizer cartridges when the batch size listed on a COA was 91,500 units, showing “a repeated pattern of non-compliant sampling for regulatory compliance products.”
Running tests for fungicide pentachloronitrobenzene, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is moving to ban “in such a way that it would not exceed” a state action limit.
Failing to report accurate total THC “on at least ten” COAs, showing “a repeated pattern of reporting inaccurate and inflated cannabinoid results.”
Retesting samples until analyses “produced the desired results.”
Posting “sticky notes” in a cannabinoid-testing area instructing lab staff to “refrain” from following normal procedure.
Not following standard procedures for pesticide testing when the laboratory director “was aware of the deviations.”
Falsifying COAs “by reporting inaccurate results” from lab data.
This is the first known instance of a California testing lab losing its license for such conduct, according to state records.
Chris Roberts can be reached at chris.roberts@mjbizdaily.com.
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