Maine issues its first-ever recall of tainted cannabis products

A Maine agency is recalling a handful of recreational marijuana products sold between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9 after they failed the office’s yeast and mold audit tests.

It’s the first recall of recreational cannabis products since the state’s recreational market launched in 2020, the Maine Office of Cannabis Policy said.

The recall, announced in a news release Tuesday evening, impacts one strain of cannabis flower and three strains of pre-rolls, all of which were produced by Cannabis Cured, a cultivator and retailer headquartered in Fairfield.

The recall applies to 1-gram pre-rolls and five pre-roll packs of the strain GG4 sold between Aug. 27 and Sept. 9; 1/8-ounce packages of flower and 1-gram pre-rolls of a strain called Jelly Donutz, which were sold from Aug. 28 to Sept. 9; and five pre-roll packs of the strain Portal, sold from Aug. 28 to Sept. 3, according to the release.

John Hudak, director of the Office of Cannabis Policy, declined to share specific details about the products in an email Tuesday night, citing an ongoing investigation. But he said the state closely tracks cannabis testing data for irregularities and performs additional tests when necessary.

Hudak said the failure threshold for yeast or mold contamination is 10,000 colony-forming units per gram, “which is the threshold recommended by the American Herbal Pharmacopoeia for cannabis.”

The cannabis office said consumers who bought the recalled products should dispose of them or return them to the store of purchase.

“Inhaling cannabis containing unsafe levels of mold can lead to sinus issues, allergies, headaches, dizziness, or fatigue,” the office said in the release. “Any consumer who has ingested these products and is experiencing symptoms or adverse reactions should contact their physician immediately.”

The defective products were sold at seven Cannabis Cured retail locations, plus Sweet Relief, a recreational dispensary in Northport.

A worker who answered the phone at Cannabis Cured’s headquarters around 6 p.m. Tuesday declined to answer questions about the recall, directing a reporter to a corporate email address. Emailed questions about the company’s internal testing process and policies were not immediately answered.

John Lorenz, owner of Sweet Relief, said he first heard about problems with the products Monday and immediately took them off the shelf. Reached by phone Tuesday evening, Lorenz said his store had stocked the three varieties of pre-rolls, which arrived a little over a week earlier, but they had only been available for sale for a few days.

Lorenz said recreational cannabis products are closely monitored and tracked “from seed to tested bud,” and that every unit his shop received has been accounted for.

“They don’t just go into a trash barrel. I don’t just get to smoke them myself,” Lorenz said. “They were taken off the shelf.”

Lorenz said a few of the pre-rolls were sold, but he did not offer specific numbers.

The office does not have the authority to compel retailers to issue refunds for recalled products, Hudak said, adding that “we would encourage those customers to inquire” with specific retailers when returning products.

Lorenz said he would be happy to issue refunds, but that customers would need to return to his store with the original packaging – even if empty – since that label contains tracking and batch information.

In addition to Sweet Relief, the recalled products were sold at Cannabis Cured’s adult-use retail locations in Bangor, Carrabassett Valley, Damariscotta, Eliot, Fairfield, Stratton and Thomaston, according to the release. The company’s Portland location was not listed.

This story was updated at 11:15 a.m. Sept. 11 to correct the threshold for yeast or mold contamination.