An administrative law judge has found that a cannabis testing company launched by three former Michigan State Police cops repeatedly violated state rules by using unapproved testing methods and failing to properly document laboratory procedures, despite warnings from regulators.
The decision marks the latest development in a years-long conflict between the state’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) and Viridis Laboratories, which operates facilities in Lansing and Bay City and tests more marijuana than any other lab in Michigan.
The labs were founded in 2018 by Greg Michaud, the former director of the Michigan State Police forensic division; Todd Welch, a retired MSP forensic scientist; and Dr. Michele Glinn, a former MSP toxicologist. Together, the trio said they had more than 85 years of drug testing experience and launched Viridis with the goal of bringing scientific credibility to Michigan’s newly regulated marijuana industry.
But soon after the labs gained traction, state regulators accused Viridis of inflating THC levels and failing to follow basic scientific protocols.
Despite repeated investigations, public criticism, and a historically large cannabis recall in 2021, the labs have continued to operate. Viridis says it tests roughly a quarter-million pounds of cannabis flower each year.
Still, stories of inflated THC levels have become so widespread that some consumers boycott cannabis products tested by Viridis, which critics say is often reporting suspiciously high potency.
The judge found that Viridis violated multiple administrative rules by deviating from approved testing methods, failing to validate changes to those methods, and not maintaining adequate records for microbial testing. In one case, technicians misidentified visible mold on a sample and passed it, describing it as “mite poop,” according to testimony during the hearing. In another, inspectors discovered that technicians were using lower magnification levels than required to screen flower for foreign matter.
“Petitioners failed to comply with the approved SOP [Standard Operating Procedure] for foreign matter analysis and failed to employ a laboratory manager to ensure that all testing is conducted in accordance with Mich Admin Code,” Administrative Law Judge Stephen Goldstein wrote.
The decision also undercut Viridis’s central argument that the state’s investigations and inspections were unnecessarily disruptive and driven by a vendetta to damage the lab’s market share. The judge dismissed that claim, concluding that the CRA’s oversight efforts were appropriate and “did not shock the conscience” or meet the legal threshold for arbitrary or retaliatory government conduct.
Viridis has argued that its potency testing method was validated through a standard program, but the tribunal found that certification fell short of the state’s requirement for a full method validation. The program, for example, didn’t review the portions of the process that the CRA found problematic, which was sample preparation and homogenization.
In rejecting the lab’s claim of “tacit approval,” the judge pointed to evidence that Viridis changed its approved testing procedures in late 2020 and 2021 without providing the CRA with the required independent validation. The lab continued to pass semi-annual inspections only because, at the time, licensees merely needed to have an approved SOP on file, not necessarily follow it.
The regulatory gap was exposed in late 2021 when the state issued the largest cannabis recall in Michigan history. More than 400 dispensaries were forced to pull an estimated $229 million worth of flower and edibles from shelves after CRA investigators flagged Viridis’s test results as unreliable. Many dispensaries said the recall threatened their financial survival, and the impact rippled through the state’s cannabis supply chain.
Viridis responded by filing a lawsuit against the state, accusing it of bias and regulatory overreach. Its lawyers claimed the CRA targeted the labs without cause or attempted to “cripple” the company by ignoring industry standards and involving competitors in the investigation.
But the judge found little evidence to support these claims. While one CRA scientist had expressed personal skepticism about the lab’s scientific practices, the ruling said Viridis failed to show any direct link between the bias and the agency’s actions. Instead, the tribunal noted that CRA’s inspections were prompted by specific red flags, such as unusually high THC results, resorts of passing moldy product, and discrepancies in microbial testing data.
According to CRA data, Viridis’s Lansing lab reported Aspergillus failures 89% less than other labs in the state, raising further concerns about reliability.
Still, despite the agency’s findings and widespread criticism in the cannabis industry, Viridis retains a significant market presence.
The CRA will now decide whether to adopt the tribunal’s findings and what sanctions, if any, to impose. The agency is authorized to issue fines, suspend licenses, or take other disciplinary action.
