The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board (WSLCB) issued its second emergency license suspension of 2018 last week. Acting on a complaint, the WSLCB inspected Tacoma Refined Cannabinoids and found violations that prompted the agency to issue a 180-day license suspension.
During the inspection, officers discovered plants, clones, and finished product not tagged with traceability markers, essentially making those items invisible to regulators. According to the WSLCB, officers seized 2,569 cannabis plants, 1,215 clones, 376 lbs of flower in refrigerated coolers, 97 lbs of bulk flower and over 3,000 half-gram pre-rolls. In addition to these violations, evidence of diversion outside the regulated market was uncovered.
All wet cannabis material will be destroyed immediately and nonperishable material will be destroyed upon revocation of the license at the end of the 180 days.
“Traceability is a core component of Washington’s system and essential for licensee compliance. If our licensees fail to track their product they put their license in jeopardy.” — Justin Nordhorn, Chief of Enforcement for the WSLCB
This is the latest traceability issue for Washington, where retailers have been reporting malfunctions with the statewide traceability database, provided by MJ Freeway, since it was adopted on November 1, 2017. Since then, multiple deadlines have been extended and a third party was brought in to assess the system, but problems have reportedly persisted.
Despite the ongoing issues, the WSLCB announced last week that MJ Freeway’s contract has been extended through January 10, 2019, with additional incentives to push towards project completion.
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