MJBiz - September/October 2024 - 14

COMPANY NEWS U.S. & International
settlement on behalf of
Albuquerque-based Blue
Whale Enterprises, according
to documents filed with
the state Cannabis Control
Division. Butcher and Blue
Whale agreed on July 16
to pay $350,000 to avoid
revocation of the store's
license.
Maryland regulators briefly
suspended the license of
Cookies Baltimore for alleged
violations of state law during a
June 2023 store-launch event.
Cannabis Data Firm
Makes Bank Play
New York-based
LeafLink acquired
the assets of
Dama Financial's banking
division in late July, bolstering its
cannabis wholesale technology
platform by adding financial
services for the marijuana
industry. Financial details of the
transaction were not disclosed.
LeafLink said the acquisition
enables it to develop an
integrated banking solution for
cannabis operators, which often
lack secure and reliable financial
services.
" After witnessing firsthand
the negative impact the federal
prohibition has had on operators'
access to traditional banks, we
are thrilled to add banking to
LeafLink's product suite, " CEO
Artie Minson said in a statement.
LeafLink's services for
marijuana brands and retailers
include ordering and advertising,
data analytics, inventory
management and payments.
Dama Financial, headquartered
in South San Francisco, California,
said it has served more than half
the nation's medical marijuana or
adult-use markets. According to a
news release, the Dama Financial
" product lines not included in
this acquisition will rebrand to
GrowFlow. "
Regulators Cancel
California Lab's License
California Cannabis
Testing Labs' license
was canceled by
state regulators,
who allege the
Northridge-based company
faked test results and tampered
with equipment so it could
offer passing test results to
cannabis products potentially
contaminated with dangerous
pesticides and mold.
The lab was first discovered
to have " engaged in activity
that poses a threat to public
health " by the state Department
of Cannabis Control (DCC)
in February 2022, according
to documents obtained by
MJBizDaily.
The July 24 notice from DCC
Deputy Director Michael Cheng
lists 20 alleged violations
uncovered at California Cannabis
Testing Labs. The regulator's
decision to cancel CCTL's license
was first reported by WeedWeek.
According to the letter, the DCC
canceled the lab's provisional
license and denied its application
for an annual permit. Alleged
violations include:
* " Deliberately " faking bench
sheet records for pesticides
and mycotoxins.
* Retesting samples to
produce " false and artificially
inflated levels of THC. "
* Manipulating lab equipment
to be unable to detect
solvents and pesticides
identified as cancer risks
by the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention.
CCTL, which first received its
license in July 2019, plans to
14 September-October 2024 | MJBizMagazine
challenge the finding, a DCC
spokesperson told MJBizDaily.
Processor Facing Possible
Penalty in Michigan
Michigan regulators filed a
complaint on July 31 against Sky
Labs, alleging the marijuana
processing company purchased
more than 130,000 grams of
unregulated THCA concentrate
from a Colorado business and
misidentified the product in
state-mandated tracking records.
A general manager at Sky
Labs told investigators from
Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory
Agency that THCA was mailed
to a manager's home in Keego
Harbor, Michigan, about 50
miles south of the company's
headquarters in Mount Morris.
The CRA listed eight counts
against the vertically integrated
business, including:
* Purchasing or transferring
marijuana products from an
unlicensed operator.
* Obtaining cannabinoids from an
unlicensed supplier.
* Failing to provide recorded
images with accurate time and
date stamps.
* Violating a requirement to
include product batch numbers,
ID tags or labels.
* Interfering with or preventing
a laboratory from collecting
product samples to comply with
testing requirements.
The CRA can suspend, revoke,
restrict or refuse to renew a
license-or impose a fine related
to these counts.
Last year, Sky Labs was
ordered to surrender its medical
marijuana processor license and
pay a $100,000 fine related to
safety violations at its facility
and the presence of banned
chemicals in its vape products,
including vitamin E acetate.
MJBiz - September/October 2024

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