LANSING, Mich. — Viridis Laboratories today applauded Michigan Sen. Aric Nesbitt, R-Lawton, for his efforts to hold the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) accountable and question the agency’s mishandling of the state’s recent cannabis recall, now widely considered a poster child for mismanagement and bungling.

Nesbitt questioned MRA Director Andrew Brisbo at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Licensing and Regulatory Affairs/Insurance and Financial Services on Thursday.

“I think it was poorly communicated to your licensees and it didn’t seem like you had thought through the impact on the wider marketplace before acting on the recall, and I thought it was very poorly done and very clumsy in the implementation of the recall,” Nesbitt said during the subcommittee hearing that he chairs.

The November 2021 recall of cannabis tested by Viridis created significant harm and disruption in the industry, leading many to question the MRA’s unscrupulous practices, including several Michigan businesses and policymakers.  More than half of the recall was tossed out by a judge who labeled the state’s action as “arbitrary.”

Nesbitt said during the hearing that he didn’t necessarily think the recall was justified and questioned whether the MRA followed the science in its decision to recall. He also questioned Brisbo on the agency’s handling of illicit products found at licensed retailers.

In February, multiple MRA agents testified under oath that although illicit cannabis is being found in MRA-licensed facilities, they’re told to leave it, even when finding trash bags full of the illicit product that agents know is being combined with tested, legal product.