Washington Suspends Cannabis Operator’s License Following ‘Serious Violations’

The Washington state Liquor and Cannabis Board announced it is suspending the license of Port Angeles-based Dank Inc., claiming to have discovered “untagged” plants, evidence of potential cannabis product diversion, and other violations of state law.

Full story after the jump.

Officials with the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board (LCB) announced they were suspending the license of Port Angeles-based Dank Incorporated after discovering “serious violations of state cannabis laws,” the agency said Thursday in an email.

Regulators said that after finding both “untagged” cannabis plants and plants whose tracking tags had been used previously — both in violation of state cannabis laws — they seized approximately 5,000 cannabis plants from the Dank Inc. facility.

“Additionally, on or between June 2021 and present, the licensee violated Washington’s ‘true party of interest/financier’ law (WAC 314-55-035) by allowing undisclosed and/or approved persons, affiliated with a criminal enterprise, to control the day-to-day operations, and engaged and/or permitted criminal conduct.” — LCB email announcement excerpt

LCB said violations included issues around traceability, the company’s true party of interest, and criminal conduct including the probable diversion of cannabis into the unregulated marketplace. Officials said that based on the seriousness of the violations and the likelihood the licensee would commit such violations again in the future, it had issued an immediate 180-day emergency suspension of Dank Inc’s cannabis operator license and would seek for the license to be permanently revoked during that timeframe.

Washington regulators have issued similar emergency license suspensions in the past, including in October 2021 when the license of Okanagan-based Emerald Flash was suspended over allegations of cannabis product diversion, misrepresentation, and other concerns.

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