Cannabis Pre-rolls Recalled in Michigan After Worker Allegedly Licks One
Officials from Michigan’s Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) have recalled nearly 3,200 pre-rolled cannabis cigarettes from 14 retail locations across the state following a “confirmed complaint regarding pre-rolls contaminated with human saliva.”
The MRA has confirmed that an investigation has been opened based on a report that a worker at a Bay City processing center licked a pre-rolled cannabis product while making the product.
Processor’s licenses temporarily suspended
The complaint is centered around a medical cannabis processing facility and a co-located adult-use cannabis processor identified as 3843 Euclid LLC. The owners of this processing center also operate Dispo, a retail and medical cannabis store located at 3843 Euclid Ave.
3843 Euclid LLC has agreed to cooperate fully with the MRA; both its medical and adult-use processor licenses have been suspended for 14-days pending further MRA investigation. As of July 31, 2020, 3843 Euclid LLC has voluntarily ceased all processing activities and intends to remain inactive until it receives further instruction from the MRA.
With the investigation ongoing there is still the potential for future recalls related to this incident, but a list of all product names and tracking numbers currently affected by the recall has been made available by the MRA. Affected stores have been identified in the Hazel Park, Detroit, Traverse City, Ann Arbor, Lansing, River Rouge, Ferndale, Quincy, Lowell, Negaunee, and Lapeer areas, in addition to the Bay City establishments of 3843 Euclid LLC and The Shop - Nature Relief Clinic.
The impacted products have been placed on “administrative hold” under the state tracking system, which alerts sellers to any issues at the time of sale. Despite this, reporting indicates that multiple sales of recalled product were made after the investigation began. It is not known whether these retailers ignored the hold alerts.
In a comment to MLive.com, MRA spokesperson David Harns stated that he could not reveal if that had occurred in this situation due to it being an ongoing investigation. Recalls are issued as quickly as possible once all pertinent product and sales information is compiled, he said.
Bob Wheaton, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Health & Human Services, told Marijuana Business Daily in an email that the alleged action is certainly unhygienic one “that has the potential to spread a host of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses.” However, he adds that there probably is not sufficient data to make a judgment about the possibility of Covid-19 transmission risk. Still, “we do not think we can eliminate the possibility. The virus that causes Covid can certainly be found in saliva,” he wrote.
Advice for consumers
It has been determined that sales of the products involved in the recall took place between June 10 and August 3. These products can be identified by the license number of the cannabis business that sold the product, as well as by the tag number assigned to each product in the statewide monitoring system.
“Consumers who have these contaminated pre-rolls in their possession should return them to the provisioning center or retailer where they were purchased for proper disposal,” the Marijuana Regulatory Agency said in a statement. “Provisioning centers must notify patients and caregivers who purchased these pre-rolls of the recall.”
Consumers who have experienced any symptoms after using products named in the recall are asked to contact their physician and report their symptoms and product use. The MRA also advises that any adverse product reactions be reported to the MRA via their contact email address: MRA-Enforcement@michigan.gov or over the phone: 517-284-8599.
