More than 1,000 pounds of marijuana was recently stolen from a corporate cannabis grower in West Michigan.
The theft of more than $600,000 worth of flower occurred at 305 Farms, which operates a 39-acre area for growing and processing tens of thousands of cannabis plants in Lawrence, about 30 miles west of Kalamazoo. It claims to be the largest “single-site indoor cannabis cultivation campus in the state of Michigan.”
“It was an enormous amount of product” that was stolen, Jan Verleur, the interim chief executive officer of 305 Farms, tells Metro Times. “It was a huge and very disruptive event.”
Verleur says the theft may have been an inside job.
“There were inside people that were potentially involved,” Verleur says. “It caught us by complete surprise.”
Verleur declined to elaborate because of the ongoing police investigation and expects more information to become available in the next few days.
It’s not clear exactly when the theft occurred. On Thursday morning, the company sent an email to customers notifying them of the theft.
“We understand that this may cause some inconvenience, and we genuinely appreciate your patience and understanding during this challenging time,” Brad Koyak, vice president of brand development for 305 Farms, wrote in the email. “We want to assure you that our cultivation operations were not affected by this incident, and we are committed to maintaining the quality and service you have come to expect from us.”
The company is working with the Van Buren County Sheriff’s Office and the Michigan Cannabis Regulatory Agency.
Luckily, Verleur says, the company was able to locate some of the stolen product through METRC, a statewide monitoring system that requires cannabis companies to enter tracking data.
“A lot of the product was trackable thanks to the METRC system,” he says. “We were able to locate some.”
Because of the theft, the farm is closed for the week, and workers are expected to return Monday.
The theft involved harvested marijuana and did not impact the growing side, Verleur says.
“Nothing on the cultivation side,” he says. “Anything that is living is still growing toward future harvest.”
About 20 orders were impacted by the theft, Verleur says.
305 Farms, like many cultivators throughout the state, has been struggling. In July, 14 employees sued the company for allegedly failing to pay them thousands of dollars in wages. At the time, Verleur blamed the situation on a “catastrophic harvest failure” caused by a faulty HVAC system.
Michigan’s legal cannabis market is oversaturated with marijuana, causing prices to hit all-time lows. The downward trend has been especially difficult for cultivators.
Last year, 305 Farms hoped to see a surge in sales after becoming the grower for Lion Order, a cannabis brand started by Rohan Marley, the son of reggae icon Bob Marley.
