Michigan marijuana regulator revokes licenses of a Corunna cannabis grower, processor
Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency has revoked the licenses of a mid-Michigan marijuana grower and processor after observing several jars and pots filled with marijuana products that were not entered into the state's tracking system, the agency said Thursday.
The action comes after the agency suspended the licenses held by the grower and processor in February — which does business as Candid Labs and Layercake Farms 2, located in Corunna, near Owosso — after CRA staff visited the grow facility to discuss the malfunctioning of its video surveillance system and found 38 cameras that were inoperable and an unapproved trailer on-site used to process marijuana distillate, among other violations.
The revocation of Candid Labs' licenses marks the first time the CRA has taken this action. Over the last several months, the agency has suspended the licenses of a marijuana dispensary in Flint and a processor in Lansing, but none of these actions has risen to the level of revocation, at least not yet.
The licenses will not be renewed or reissued at any future date, the CRA said, and the owner, Ramon Hana, will be permanently prohibited from being employed or working in any capacity at a licensed marijuana business in Michigan.
Hana also is the owner of a medical and recreational marijuana processing facility in Lansing. He's now prohibited from renewing those licenses and must close those businesses before the licenses expire, the CRA said.
"Ramon Hana is committed to moving in another direction with his career so that he is able to continue to support his wife and his five children with ages ranging from one year to 12 years," Rob Huth, Hana's attorney, said in an emailed comment. Hana "appreciates the CRA’s acknowledgment that he did not admit the truth of any of the allegations but was cooperative so the expense of an administrative hearing was not necessary," Huth said.
Candid Labs voluntarily destroyed all of its products in the statewide monitoring system in May, the CRA said.
When CRA staff visited Candid Labs’ medical grower facility in October 2022, they observed some video footage but the footage cut to a black screen frequently and for long periods of time, according to the formal complaint. Candid Labs said that they had a rat problem and that rats had chewed through the video wires, the CRA said.
CRA staff observed glass jars labeled with "Labyrinth Xtracts Ultra Fine Distillate Oil" and a "Hempire State Growers Hudson Valley New York" that were not tagged. CRA staff also saw several jars containing what appeared to be marijuana distillate. Candid Labs employees said the products were made from biomass (the stalks, stems and leaves of the cannabis plant) kept on the premises, but when agency staff tested the product, the results revealed that the biomass could not have been used to create the product.
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Over the last several months, the agency has also suspended the license of the marijuana dispensary Green Culture in Flint after it tested the dispensary's products and found they contained unacceptable levels of banned pesticides, heavy metals, mold and bacteria. It suspended the license of TAS Asset Holdings, a Lansing marijuana processor, in February after the agency found it sold products that were made by combining regulated and illicit marijuana products.
Contact Adrienne Roberts: amroberts@freepress.com.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mid-Michigan cannabis business permanently loses operating licenses
