Cartridges contain prohibited additives

OREGON: The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) is issuing a recall for four vaping products produced by an OLCC licensed processor. The products were sold to recreational marijuana licensed retailers; the processor also sold the products to non-licensed (general market) retailers.

The products do not conform to state standards regarding cannabis additives and therefore should not be sold in either the cannabis or general market. The licensee’s records indicate the products contain CBN, an artificially derived cannabinoid; they also contain a synthetic form of the cannabinoid CBC.

Under Oregon law, inhalable products like vape cartridges cannot contain artificially derived cannabinoids. Additionally, the synthetic CBC does not comply with OLCC requirements for non-cannabis additives in inhalable products, and is also prohibited under Oregon law.

The vape cartridges have been sold under the brand name Firefly Extracts and were manufactured by Hillsboro-based Plank Road Laboratories, Inc., an OLCC licensed marijuana processor. A preliminary investigation by the OLCC indicates that a combined total of more than 5,000 units of the products were manufactured between August 2021 and February 2022; not all of the products were distributed. The licensee has been cooperating with the OLCC to track down the distributed product.

The recall is for the Firefly products identified below:

Product name: Firefly – Strain T1 vape cartridge | Manufacture Date: 2/16/2022 (Label ID 5658) | Sold starting 03/16/2022

Product name: Firefly – Special Sauce vape cartridge | Manufacture Date: 12/22/2021 (Label ID 5658) | Sold starting 03/11/2022

Product name: Firefly – Hawaiian Haze vape cartridge | Manufacture Date: 12/22/2021 (Label ID 5658) | Sold starting 02/11/2022

Product name: Firefly – Cherry Wife vape cartridge | Manufacture Date: 8/31/2021 (Label ID 5658) | Sold starting 09/11/2021

Plank Road Laboratories, Inc. originally distributed vape cartridges to about 80 OLCC licensed marijuana retailers; about 30 retailers still have nearly 200 units on hand. The manufacturer also distributed at least 300 units that can be accounted for to six retailers in the general market; this includes four retailers licensed by the OLCC to sell alcohol.

The OLCC and the licensee are notifying licensed marijuana retailers about the recall; OLCC inspectors are making in-person contact with general market retailers to inform them about the recall because they may not be familiar with the agency’s recall process. In 2021, the legislature assigned the OLCC authority to regulate the sale of certain cannabis-based products in the general market.

The OLCC discovered the prohibited additive issue during a random audit of the Cannabis Tracking System (CTS). Investigators reviewing the Firefly Extracts testing results also determined that at least three of them contained the synthetic cannabinoid CBC. Under the Oregon Board of Pharmacy standards, non-cannabis derived CBC is considered a Schedule 1 substance.

Consumers who purchased the recalled products are encouraged to destroy them. The OLCC has not received any health-related complaints from the use of the recalled products. Consumers with health-related concerns about a recalled product should contact the Oregon Poison Center at 800-222-1222, or their medical provider.

If consumers have other product related complaints related to this recall, they should notify the OLCC at olcc.recalls@oregon.gov and include any information they have, including the consumer’s name and phone number, or alternative means of contact