SPARKS, Nev. (AP) — State officials have suspended the marijuana license of a Sparks laboratory accused of altering THC levels during the testing of pot products, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported Wednesday.
The Nevada Department of Taxation issued an advisory on Monday saying Certified Ag Labs LLC misrepresented THC potency levels during a routine inspection at the facility. It said products tested there "may be labeled incorrectly and could contain a different level of THC than what is listed on product packaging."
The lab said its license could potentially be revoked.
Randy Gardner, a managing member of the lab, said in a statement the suspension "is as baseless as it is appalling." He said they have been completely transparent with the state at all times.
The lab was briefly closed in December 2017 for undisclosed reasons before reopening in January 2018.
The department didn't indicate in Monday's public advisory that it was suspending the license of the lab, nor did it indicate in its notice that it was closing it. But a notice on the facility door indicated that the lab license, in fact, had been suspended, the newspaper reported.
"The Department advises all legal cannabis users to take caution when using product tested by Certified Ag Labs, LLC and when comparing any similar products of the same potency, as those effects may be greater and/or less than that of the product tested by Certified Ag Labs, LLC," the notice read.
The state Department of Taxation didn't provide any additional information.
The suspension came without warning, Gardner said.
"We hope the State appreciates that a business and its employees' livelihoods and reputations are at stake. We are pursuing our options and all legal and equitable redress will be on the table," he said.
The first time the taxation department suspended the lab's license, in 2017, was due to the lab's misunderstanding of new regulations at the time, Gardner said. This time, he said the lab did nothing wrong and he "stands behind the data 100 percent."
It's the state officials who are confused this time, he said.
He could not elaborate on the suspension, but he said that the lab's products in no way endangered consumers.