MJNews Network

"The Voice of Legal Cannabis Since 2013"

You are here: Home / Archives for Oregon

OLCC Issues Recall of Cannabis Vape Products

by Leave a Comment

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 09/11/2021Firefly Extracts label

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

OLCC Issues Pre-Roll Testing and Labeling Guidance

by Leave a Comment

OREGON: The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) are providing the following guidance to all marijuana licensees and hemp certificate holders regarding the testing of infused pre-rolls. This bulletin updates guidance contained in OLCC Compliance Education Bulletin 2019-05. 

This guidance applies to any batch of infused pre-rolls that have not yet received any compliance testing. Any infused pre-rolls that have already received compliance test results may not be retested under this new interpretation.

This education bulletin is part of OLCC’s compliance education. It is important that you read it and understand it. If you do not understand it, please contact the OLCC or OHA for help.

Compliance Education Bulletin CE2023-01 covers the following issues related to infused pre-rolls:

  • Testing guidance
  • Labeling guidance

Background

OHA and OLCC have received questions regarding infused pre-rolls and whether they must include the filter or tip in order to comply with testing and labeling rules. Previous guidance indicated that these parts of the infused pre-roll should be included in the sample for testing and be included in the labeled weight of the item. A problem arises when the filter or tip is a material like glass, plastic, cardboard, or wood. These materials cannot easily or homogeneously be ground up by a laboratory for analysis. In the case of glass, plastic, or wood filters or tips, their weight may significantly under-report the concentration of cannabinoids as well as the results of other compliance tests.

OHA and OLCC intend to address this issue in 2023 by using rulemaking to better clarify how infused pre-rolls should be tested and labeled. Until the issue is addressed through future rulemaking, the OLCC, in coordination with OHA, is providing guidance in this bulletin on how infused pre-rolls may be sampled, tested and labeled under existing rules.

Read a complete version of the bulletin here

OLCC Issues Mandatory Recall for Marijuana Extract Products

by Leave a Comment

Products potentially contaminated due to improper pesticide testing

OLCC continuing to investigate to determine cause

OREGON: The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) has issued a mandatory recall for several marijuana products due to the potential presence of pesticides. The possible marijuana product contamination is a result of failure to follow OLCC and Oregon Health Authority (OHA) rules for tracking and isolating marijuana products where the presence of pesticides has been detected.

This recall has been issued for 9,300 units that were still on the market and affects 13,600 units that were sold to consumers. The recall is being issued to ensure that licensees do not sell, and customers do not consume the effected products, because OLCC investigators cannot determine if the potential contamination is isolated or is widespread through the product lines.

The recalled products are concentrated forms of psychoactive THC; they range from inhalable items including jars of THC extract and THC vape cartridges to an ingestible form of THC known as Rick Simpson Oil (RSO).

The recall is for the marijuana products identified below. These products were manufactured by OLCC licensees under the trade names Bobsled and Quantum Alchemy.

Bobsled products

  • Product Name: Bobsled – Dolato Cured Resin Vape Cartridge | Manufacture Date: 9/12/2022 (Label Id 5368) | Sold starting 10/4/22
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Larry OG Cured Resin | Manufacture Date: 8/29/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 9/15/2022
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Larry OG – Dabs Sugar Sauce | Manufacture Date: 8/29/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 9/26/2022
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Stardawg Cured Resin | Manufacture Date: 9/12/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 10/10/2022
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Frostbite Cured Resin| Manufacture Date: 6/13/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 9/21/2022
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Sunburn Cured Resin| Manufacture Date: 6/13/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 9/22/2022
  • Product Name: Bobsled – Sunburn Sugar Sauce Extract| Manufacture Date: 6/13/2022 (Label Id 5326) | Sold starting 11/23/2022

Quantum Alchemy products

  • Product Name: RSO Raspberry GMO | Manufacture Date: 11/29/21 (Label Id 5764) | Sold starting 11/28/22
  • Product Name: HTE Distillate R#ntz | Manufacture Date 11/30/21 (Generic Label) | Sold between 12/10/21 and 1/6/22
  • Product Name: HTE Distillate McR#ntz | Manufacture Date 2/21/22 (Generic Label) | Sold starting 9/23/22
  • Product Name: Cart 1g HTE Distillate Milo | Manufacture Date 2/21/22 (Generic Label) | Sold starting 9/23/22

Photos of many of the recalled products and packaging are contained in the press release found here on the OLCC website product recall page.

The OLCC has notified cannabis retailers about the recall, advising that these products are under a mandatory recall with instructions on how the products must be destroyed or returned to a licensed supplier for destruction. The OLCC utilized the state’s Cannabis Tracking System (CTS) to detect the potentially tainted products, contact the licensees that produced the impacted brands and locate all the questionable items distributed and sold through Oregon’s regulated market.

OLCC inspectors will follow up with licensees in possession of the affected products to ensure they are removed from sale, isolated from other inventory, and then ultimately destroyed according to OLCC rules. Customers who have purchased this product can either return it to the OLCC-licensed retailer they purchased it from or destroy the product.

The OLCC has not identified any fault by the laboratory that conducted the pesticide analysis. The items identified as subject to the mandatory recall are related to batches that originally failed testing for pesticides.

Under OHA rules, manufacturers must follow certain procedures to retest any failed batches, and may only remediate the suspect product under certain circumstances. The manufacturers of the products identified did not follow proper procedures in tracking, retesting, and isolating the affected marijuana products. 

The OLCC started its investigation on November 29, 2022. The companies that produce Bobsled products (Bobsled, LLC) and Quantum Alchemy products (Happy Hollow Farms, Inc.) are cooperating with OLCC in the isolation and destruction of the affected items. Although the discovery of these incidents occurred simultaneously, OLCC is investigating them as separate incidents.

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.

OLCC METRC Batch Tagging

by Leave a Comment

METRC Batch Tagging

AGENDA & PROPOSED RULE

10:00 AM – 11:00 AM

Monday, December 19, 2022

Location: Virtual – Microsoft Teams meeting

Click here to join the meeting on Teams

Or call in (audio only): 1-323-553-3576; Access Code: 649575093#

Currently, OLCC producers and medical growers reporting in METRC are required to use single-use RFID tags on all individual plants 36 inches or higher. OLCC staff have heard concerns regarding the cost of these tags, both in terms of the material cost as well as the labor cost of affixing and managing individual tags.

OLCC staff propose amendments to plant tagging requirements that would reduce the number of RFID tags required in order to balance accountability for reporting and compliance with lower costs for producer licensees and medical growers required to report in METRC.

OLCC Public Meetings Website


Turn On. Tune In. Subscribe. | Marijuana Channel One

Governor Kate Brown Grants Pardon for Oregon Marijuana Offenses

by Leave a Comment

Approximately 45,000 people will be impacted, more than $14,000,000 in fines and fees will be forgiven

OREGON: Governor Kate Brown today announced a pardon for prior Oregon offenses of simple possession of marijuana, an act that will impact an estimated 45,000 individuals across the state and forgive more than $14,000,000 in associated fines and fees. The pardon will remove 47,144 convictions for possession of a small amount of marijuana from individual records, eliminating barriers for thousands of people seeking employment, housing, and educational opportunities who have otherwise been ineligible.

The pardon applies to electronically available Oregon convictions for possession of 1 ounce or less of marijuana, in pre-2016 cases in which the person was 21 years of age or older, where this was the only charge, and where there were no victims. This pardon does not apply to any other offense related to marijuana or other controlled substances. More information can be found here.

“No one deserves to be forever saddled with the impacts of a conviction for simple possession of marijuana — a crime that is no longer on the books in Oregon,” said Governor Brown. “Oregonians should never face housing insecurity, employment barriers, and educational obstacles as a result of doing something that is now completely legal, and has been for years. My pardon will remove these hardships. And while Oregonians use marijuana at similar rates, Black and Latina/o/x people have been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted at disproportionate rates.

“We are a state, and a nation, of second chances. Today, I am taking steps to right the wrongs of a flawed, inequitable, and outdated criminal justice system in Oregon when it comes to personal marijuana possession. For the estimated 45,000 individuals who are receiving a pardon for prior state convictions of marijuana possession, this action will help relieve the collateral consequences arising from these convictions.”

Following the Governor’s pardon, the Oregon Judicial Department will ensure that all court records associated with these pardoned offenses are sealed, as required by law.

Commission Reminds Licensees of Agency’s Authority

by Leave a Comment

OLCC takes action on THC lab shopping

OREGON: Members of the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) have a message for OLCC licensees – if you flaunt the rules and test our authority we’re going to come down on you, even if we think your complaint has merit.

At its regularly scheduled monthly meeting on Thursday, November 17, 2022, the Commission voiced concerns about businesses that place agency staff at risk by openly flaunting regulations. The matter came up when the Commission was reviewing a contested administrative rules case that stemmed from the COVID pandemic restrictions. Commissioners also approved updated marijuana rules, appointed two new independently operated liquor stores and approved stipulated settlement agreements.

In the contested case, an Oregon Administrative Law Judge had already found that Central Pastime, a bar in Burns, openly operated during the COVID pandemic without following the Oregon Health Authority’s COVID restrictions. OLCC Commission Chair Paul Rosenbaum pointed out that the Commission heard similar legal arguments during their review of the Along Came Trudy’s case this past May. Those arguments centered on the legality of COVID restrictions established through Governor Brown’s Executive Orders.

Commissioners also voted to reject a settlement with Along Came Trudy’s; that administrative rules case is currently before the Oregon Court of Appeals. Because the two cases are complicated, any penalties related to them will not take effect until either the courts issue a ruling or the licensees agree to a settlement. Commissioners acknowledged industry concerns about how the COVID restrictions limited their ability to conduct business. However, Commissioners emphasized the importance of licensees understanding and recognizing the authority of the Commission.

After Commissioners approved the sanctions against Central Pastime, Commissioner Marvin Revoal took a moment to remind businesses about their obligations to work with the OLCC. “You can always disagree with the rules and regulations that come out of the state of Oregon,” said Revoal. “When we knock on the door and say: ‘Can we inspect whatever?’ We have the authority to do so, and if you put us in jeopardy; you put your livelihood in jeopardy.”

Commissioners also approved final marijuana rules to align with legislative changes enacted during the 2022 legislative session. An OLCC data analyst provided a presentation on one of the most important rules changes, one that addresses the validity of marijuana test results, especially for THC content. Marijuana consumers often base their decisions to purchase a product based upon the amount of THC in a product. In turn, businesses desire high THC test results to make their products more attractive to consumers; that’s created an incentive for some laboratory licensees to artificially inflate test results.

Licensees have voiced concern about “lab shopping”, where certain labs greatly exaggerate THC levels in products in order to court the business of other marijuana licensees that sell marijuana products. “There’s a lot of voices that don’t want THC to be the sole factor and the skewed THC is something the consumer fixates on and it’s not fair,” said OLCC Commissioner Matt Maletis.

The Commission appointed two independently owned businesses to operate liquor stores in Cave Junction and Hillsboro. Commissioners selected Presley Christensen to operate the Cave Junction store. Christensen has spent over 10 years in the alcohol industry as a bartender and most recently has been working in the Grants Pass liquor store as an assistant.

Commissioners also chose James Newman to operate the Hillsboro-TV Highway store. Newman brings over 13 years of experience in the alcohol industry and plans to operate the business in partnership with his wife Lindsay, who has over 10 years of experience in the hospitality industry.

The Commission also ratified four stipulated settlement agreements for both alcohol and marijuana licensees. Detailed information on the specific cases below can be found on the OLCC website:

Alcohol Stipulated Settlement Agreements

ANDREW’S WATERHOLE (F-COM) in Portland, will pay a $1,485 fine OR serve a nine-day license suspension for one violation.

GORGES BEER (F-COM) in Cascade Locks, will pay a $1,485 fine OR serve a nine-day license suspension for one violation.

Marijuana Stipulated Settlement Agreements

BLAZE DISTRIBUTION (Wholesaler), will pay a $4,250 fine AND serve a two-day license suspension OR serve a 19-day license suspension for one violation.

KAYA SHACK (Retailer) in Salem, will sell the business by February 1, 2023 for two violations.

 

OLCC Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants & Illegal Cannabis Production Meeting

by Leave a Comment

OREGON: Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production Funding Subcommittee Meeting

AGENDA

10:00 AM

November 22, 2022

Location: Virtual – Microsoft Teams meeting

Click here to join the meeting on Teams

Or call in (audio only)+1 323-553-3576, Passcode 49368335#

Psilocybin Services Launches First Platform Connecting Psilocybin Clients & Facilitators in Oregon

by Leave a Comment

Psilocybin Services seeks to help facilitators and clients take the next step together.

OREGON: Psilocybin Services is now accepting applications for early access to Oregon’s first and only psilocybin services directory. Prospective clients and facilitators alike are invited to sign up in advance of the full launch of the directory in early 2023. 

A passion project of professional photographer and psilocybin advocate Rory Finney, Psilocybin Services is a free service that helps prospective clients find the right psilocybin services facilitator for their psilocybin session. Psilocybin Services connects clients with facilitators based on their specific needs and goals as they embark on their next steps toward healing and growth.

Finney, a long-time supporter of alternative wellness therapies, is enthusiastic about the possibilities offered by medical psilocybin’s debut in Oregon. “Healing can come when we connect directly to the origins of our discontent—that is the magic of this program,” says Finney. “One or more facilitators will sit by your side while the psilocybin-containing mushrooms reacquaint you with yourself.”

To sign up or learn more about Psilocybin Services, please visit their website at psilocybinservices.org. Psilocybin Services was also featured in CNN’s recent coverage of the legal and technical challenges confronting Oregon’s fledgling psilocybin industry.

In November 2020, Oregon voters approved Ballot Measure 109, which directs the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to license and regulate psilocybin products and facilitators, starting January 2, 2023.

Oregon is the first state to legalize and regulate the clinical use of psilocybin. One of the primary goals of Psilocybin Services is to skillfully match clients with facilitators. Their relationship is the foundation of a successful psilocybin program.

“The better we do at our job,” notes Finney, “the more likely it is for psilocybin programs to emerge beyond Oregon. For the people in the dark, we are lighting the match.”

Psilocybin is a naturally occurring psychedelic compound found in more than 200 species of fungi. It has been used for millennia by indigenous and tribal communities for spiritual, ceremonial, and other purposes. Therapeutically, psilocybin shows promise in the treatment of depression, addiction, anxiety, and trauma, among other mental health conditions. Research also shows psilocybin can enhance spiritual well-being.

OLCC Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production

by Leave a Comment

AGENDA

Friday, October 21, 2022

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM

Click here to join the meeting on Teams

Or call in (audio only) +1 323-553-3576, Access Code: 865693614#

OLCC Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production

by Leave a Comment

Task Force on Cannabis-Derived Intoxicants and Illegal Cannabis Production

Law Enforcement Subcommittee

AGENDA

Thursday, October 20, 2022

10:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Click here to join the meeting on Teams

Or call in (audio only): +1 971-323-0147, Pass Code 776970576#