Yet Again, Massive Cannabis Product Recall Rocks Missouri Weed Industry: 135,000 Products Quarantined

Last year, Missouri’s fledgling cannabis industry in was rocked by a massive product recall. Now, just one year later, the industry faces an even larger recall, 135,000 products, doubling the scale of the previous recall.

"This is kind of unprecedented," said Nick Rinella, CEO of Hippos Cannabis. Since the announcement, Rinella and other facility owners across Missouri have scrambled to quarantine thousands of vapes, edibles, and pre-rolled joints. The challenge is exacerbated by the fact that many facilities are still holding products from last year's recall. These products were not destroyed, and remain under quarantine due to ongoing legal challenges.

What Happened: The first notice, issued on August 6, involved 2,650 products from Marceline-based NGWMO LLC. The issue? These products were not properly tested before reaching consumers. The second recall, involving 133,000 products from Springfield-based C&C Manufacturing LLC was issued just two days later. This recall centered on improper tracking of products within the state's seed-to-sale system, making it impossible to verify their safety, reported Missouri Independent.

The Hurdle Of Massive Recalls

As Missouri’s cannabis companies are still grappling with last year's recall, they now forced to quarantine even more products, which can create a storage issue, as the dispensaries wait for authorities to resolve over their final destiny.

"If you have product that you have to quarantine, it makes it difficult space-wise for you to bring in other inventory to keep the business moving," said Mark Hendren, president of Flora Farms.

Read Also: Missouri Governor’s THC Ban Threatens 9,000 Retailers Statewide Amid Nationwide Clampdown On Hemp

Ongoing Legal Battles

The 2023 recall affected a Robertsville-based, Delta Extraction, when authorities discovered that the company was selling a distillate primarily made of hemp-derived THC, that was not grown in Missouri and therefore lacking traceability.

The 2023 recall led to over 60,000 Delta Extraction products being removed from shelves and the revocation of Delta Extraction's manufacturing license. But the decision was appealed and a battle is still ongoing in the Administrative Hearing Commission.

A parallel dispute led to a $20 million lawsuit filed by contractor SND Equipment Leasing, who claims to have been unfairly affected by due to confiscated equipment. While SND's lawsuit seeks financial compensation, Delta Extraction is focused on appealing the state's regulatory actions.

Further Impacts For The Cannabis Industry

Similarly to what happened with Delta Extraction, the 2024 C&C Manufacturing recall is having a great impact. This is because the company specializes in producing distillate, which is used to create new products, affecting the value chain downstream (mainly vapes and oils).

At this point, one might wonder if the Missouri Department of Health should create a procedure for distillates that does not distress the entire industry if a problem appears with one relevant input.

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