Marijuana company with unlicensed employees could lose its license
Two Nevada marijuana companies are facing hefty fines and a possible loss of their licenses as part of the latest round of complaints filed Tuesday by the state’s Cannabis Compliance Board.
The new complaints are the latest since the board took over regulation of the industry in Nevada in July and show a continued push to crack down on companies that are in violation of the state’s marijuana laws.
The board on Tuesday also approved five settlements with companies that had been hit in the previous rounds of complaints, with most of them agreeing to reduced punishments than were proposed by the board.
On top of potentially losing its license, Nevada Medical Group, which operates the cultivation facility Body and Mind Cannabis in Las Vegas, is facing a proposed $255,000 fine after CCB investigators found that six employees were working at the facility with expired marijuana agent cards, which all employees who work for licensed cannabis companies in the state must have.
The investigators visited the business in August after they had received a tip, but not all of the tipster’s allegations proved factual, according to the complaint that was approved by the board Tuesday.
During the August inspection, one employee who was told by CCB agents to leave asked to gather his belongings. But, according to the complaint, security footage showed the employee instead tried to help another employee who had an expired card leave the facility before the inspectors could discover him.
The second complaint was filed against Silver State Cultivation, which holds medical and recreational cultivation and production licenses. The complaint said that the company failed to keep a camera malfunction log, had no documentation of a required semiannual audit, wasn’t following marijuana disposal guidelines and had inventory that did not align with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system. It is facing a potential revocation of its license and a $35,000 fine.
Other settlements
The board also approved several settlements in previously filed complaints against cannabis companies, including one that originally faced losing its dispensary license but will avoid such punishment.
■ Kynd Strainz, which operates Mynt Dispensaries in Reno, agreed to pay a $13,500 fine to the state after inspectors found that the business had several products with inventories not in line with the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system, lack of documentation of a semiannual audit of the building’s security measures, and allowing an employee to work without a valid agent card. With the settlement, the business avoids more severe punishment originally proposed by the board, including revoking its license, a five-year ban on applying for another dispensary license and a $19,000 fine.
■ Cultivator and production company Blossom Group, which faced a fine up $74,000 and a 30-day suspension for unlabeled products, products that were stored improperly, including products being stored in the same freezer as employees’ food, and not having any certified pest inspectors, agreed to a fine of $30,000.
■ NV Green, a medical marijuana production and cultivation company, agreed to pay a $10,333 fine after investigators found the company was not properly disposing of marijuana waste and not maintaining security footage as required by law.
■ Two other companies, MM Development and Nevada Wellness Center, also agreed to settlements for minor violations and fines of $5,000 and $4,500, respectively.
Contact Capital Bureau Chief Colton Lochhead at clochhead@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ColtonLochhead on Twitter.