A prominent California cannabis testing lab remains shut despite a judge’s finding that state regulators failed to provide allegations of fraud and public harm.
California cannabis regulators failed to prove accusations of THC potency inflation and fraudulent pesticide and mold testing brought against a prominent commercial cannabis lab whose license they suspended in April 2025, an administrative law judge found late last month.
But despite the unraveling of the state Department of Cannabis Control’s case against BelCosta Labs – and the judge’s finding that the agency’s actions were “unduly punitive” – the business remains closed and will likely never reopen, BelCosta CEO Myron Ronay told MJBizDaily.
In the meantime, the DCC’s handling of the case, one of the most high-profile examples of a state cannabis regulator cracking down on an allegedly unscrupulous testing lab, is fueling doubts among state operators as well as other testing labs in DCC’s ability to rein in problems and rebuild consumer and industry trust, several observers told MJBizDaily.
Did a California cannabis testing lab inflate THC potency and clear moldy cannabis for sale?
Amid a crackdown on cannabis testing labs launched amid nationwide accusations of routine potency inflation and unreliable pesticide and contaminant testing, the DCC alleged BelCosta committed seven violations.
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