FRAMINGHAM, Mass. (WHDH/AP) — Framingham Mayor Yvonne Spicer has asked the state Cannabis Control Commission to investigate after hundreds of vials containing extracted THC and usable marijuana was found in a dumpster outside a medical marijuana testing facility on Sunday night.
A member of the Framingham Police Department checking on a car parked on a curb outside of the Speen Street testing facility around 9:30 p.m. found the cannabis products in an unlocked dumpster, a spokesperson for the City of Framingham said.
Spicer wants to know how the vials containing what police described as a “brown, sticky liquid” were found Sunday in MCR Labs’ trash. Spicer alleges the lab broke rules regarding disposal of cannabis waste.
Under state law, when testing labs are throwing away marijuana, they’re supposed to grind it up, make it unusable and dump it in a permitted waste facility.
MCR Labs has about 25 employees and serves nearly all registered medical marijuana dispensaries in the state. Before products can be sold, they are tested for potency and any potential hazards, such as heavy metals and microbiological contaminants.
Spicer said she feels “confident that MCR will address the violation swiftly with the Commission.”
In a statement, MCR Labs President Michael Kahn said the company is working hand-in-hand with the state to correct the issue.
“As a high-quality lab that has been responsibly testing the safety and quality of marijuana products since the inception of the medical and adult-use marijuana industries in Massachusetts, we take our work seriously and strive at all times to comply with the important regulations that have been established,” the statement read. “Following the recent discovery of waste products on our property by the Framingham Police, MCR Labs is cooperating with the Cannabis Control Commission to review the matter. As a matter of policy, we routinely render useless all products that we test. Despite that precaution, we immediately instituted additional protocols requiring the storage of used, tested products inside our building until the time of disposal in accordance with regulations.”
Kahn apologized for causing a disruption and stressed that his company is committed to ensuring the safety of the community.
Vials of #THC found in dumpsters behind Framingham marijuana testing facility, #MCR Labs #7News pic.twitter.com/HDWkhFNDTR
— Kimberly Bookman (@KimberlyBookman) January 16, 2019
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