The Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has reached a settlement resulting in the permanent ban of the founders of Viridis Laboratories and Viridis North from the state's marijuana industry. Todd Welch, Gregoire Michaud, and Michele Glinn, who have past affiliations with the Michigan State Police, will no longer hold any role within the cannabis market, citing their failure to comply with required standards, as reported by ClickOnDetroit.
This decision follows a series of legal skirmishes and criticisms over the labs' testing methods, which allegedly included inflating THC potency levels and minimizing marijuana hazards. A significant recall was prompted in November 2021, when the CRA doubted the reliability of Viridis' results, leading to an estimated $229 million worth of products being pulled from dispensaries, according to the Metro Times. After several complaints and dismissals in the courts, Viridis has been ordered to close its Lansing lab immediately and shut down its Bay City operation by September 28, 2025.
Competition within the industry has been notably affected by Viridis' operations, with some businesses "pushed to the brink," stated Brian Hanna, the CRA executive director, as per a report by the Metro Times. In a separate case, Ben Rosman, co-founder and CEO of PSI Labs, which had shuttered in early 2024, lamented that their commitment to accuracy ironically contributed to their downfall - an example of the impact Viridis' practices had on other testing labs, as noted by MLive.
In light of these events, the CRA emphasized the foundational role of scientific integrity for the future of the cannabis industry, as Claire Patterson, the CRA’s lab director, pointed out. The agency is in the process of establishing an own state-run testing lab to assure more robust standards and reliable audits of test results, with plans to be operational by spring 2026. The integrity of science, transparency, and ethical conduct are now watched more closely as pivotal elements for the industry's health, ensuring safety and trust for consumers and businesses alike.
.JPG){kind=link}