The Cannabis Compliance Board of the State of Nevada (CCB) has filed a complaint against LettuceTest, LLC for allegedly skirting several Nevada laws at its medical and adult-use cannabis testing facility, where it assesses the safety and potency of other companies’ cannabis products. The Jan. 26 complaint explains that a December 2019 investigation revealed several breaches and spurred the CCB to take legal action.
Three CCB investigators allegedly visited LettuceTest’s Las Vegas facility and found flaws in its testing procedures and falsified results. Ostensibly, the defendant was approving products for consumer use with unacceptably high levels of bacteria.
The investigators also allegedly found that LettuceTest analysts repeatedly passed bacteria concentration retests of failed products that again fell short of compliance requirements based on directives from management. Testing data for several previous months showed a similar pattern of behavior, the filing recounts.
As for cannabinoid potency, the complaint alleges that LettuceTest’s laboratory analysts lacked the requisite knowledge and were undertrained for the role. In the same vein, lab workers’ techniques were improper, ostensibly leading to a high probability of skewed results. In addition, potency trend logs kept for clients were sent to them, but not simultaneously to the CCB, in violation of state regulations.
In late 2019, the CCB commenced an administrative proceeding to warn consumers and halt LettuceTest’s illegal practices until they were rectified. In February 2020, the CCB inspectors revisited the site and allowed most of the defendant’s testing to move forward. In September 2020, the CCB issued LettuceTest a cease and desist order in response to inappropriate pesticide and mycotoxin testing the CCB was advised of by letter.
The instant lawsuit requests that the court revoke LettuceTest’s state-issued licenses, assess a $62,500 fine, and prohibit the company from obtaining other licenses for nearly 10 years.
Nevada is represented by its attorney general and CCB lawyers.
