California Lawsuit Takes Aim At Cannabis 'Lab Shopping' As Dangerous Pesticides End Up In Popular Weed Products

California-based Shield Management has allegedly "lab shopped" to camouflage that it has sold tainted products.

As reported by Green Market Report's Debra Borchardt, 23 of Shield’s products failed tests, then the company found a lab that turned "a blind eye to pesticide contaminants so that failed products can continue to be sold."

Kayla Esmond, the plaintiff in the lawsuit filed earlier this month in the Superior Court in California, claimed it independently tested the products from the West Coast Cure and Phire and found they contain the contaminants.

Shield allegedly sold the products labeled as free of pesticides or metals, which was not the case, according to Esmond's complaint. In addition, Shield is also being accused of doctoring the Certificates of Analysis to look as though the products passed the required testing.

The lawsuit noted that Shield’s dishonesty is not an isolated case.

"This systemic fraud is not an isolated phenomenon but rather is becoming a pervasive issue across the marketplace, affecting numerous stakeholders, including consumers, legitimate businesses, and the integrity of the industry as a whole," according to the lawsuit.

At the moment, there are roughly 50 labs in California licensed by the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) for testing cannabis products. Due to the decline in the state's legal market, competition is fierce, resulting in cases such as Shield's.

In such a scenario, "brands and laboratories agree, jointly, to ignore ‘safety fails’ to hide the presence of dangerous chemicals that otherwise would prevent the sale of these tainted goods," Borchardt wrote citing, the complaint.

Earlier this week, the DCC issued a recall of certain THC oil vape cartridges being sold in 106 retail locations across the state, due to containing dangerous levels of a dangerous pesticide. That move was prompted by a joint investigation by The Los Angeles Times and cannabis industry newsletter WeedWeek.

Related news: Cannabis Recall In California After Investigation Finds Dangerous Pesticides In Popular Weed Products

The recalled products are West Coast Cure's "Orange Cookies" products packaged on or after September 26, 2023. The recall of a single CUREpen PREMIUM THC OIL Vape Cartridge was issued after determining the presence of a pesticide called chlorfenapyr.

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