A proposed class action lawsuit claims marijuana brand West Coast Cure has side-stepped California cannabis testing regulations and sold products that contain dangerous contaminants.
esmond-v-shield-management-group-llc_1The 25-page fraud lawsuit against Shield Management Group, which does business as West Coast Cure, centers on what the case calls a “disturbing pattern” reportedly emerging in California’s cannabis industry. In particular, the complaint concerns the claim that certain retailers, such as West Coast Cure, allegedly seek out testing laboratories that will “turn a blind eye” to “safety fails” or detected contamination in a product’s sample batch.
The suit contends that the defendant has engaged in this fraudulent practice, known as “lab shopping,” in a “calculated effort” to manipulate test results and conceal the presence of prohibited adulterants in its cannabis products.
According to California Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) regulations, cannabis products, before they can be sold, must be tested by a licensed lab for their THC content and the presence of foreign material, heavy metals, residual pesticides, processing chemicals and more, the case explains. Per the complaint, the lab must then report the results to the DCC in a document that includes a “pass” or “fail” indication for each substance for which a product was tested.
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