O’Hara Shipe
Audio By Carbonatix
Editor’s note: This story first ran on Oct. 27 and was updated Oct. 29 after the Arizona Department of Health Services announced a third strain had tested positive for contaminants.
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On Friday, the Arizona Department of Health Services issued a voluntary recall of two strains of marijuana sold at dispensaries in Scottsdale and Tucson. Testing found unacceptably high amounts of levels of fungus and lead, respectively, in the products.
On Wednesday, the department announced another voluntary recall after testing found the same fungus in flower, concentrates and extracts sold at several dispensaries in the state.
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All involved dispensaries have pulled the tainted products from shelves, DHS said. No illnesses have been reported in any of the cases. “This announcement is being made out of an abundance of caution,” the department said in a press release. “Consumers who have purchased contaminated products should not ingest, inhale, or otherwise consume them and should dispose of them.”
A flower strain called “Scrooge,” sold by licensee Eba Holdings, was found to contain the fungus Aspergillus, which can cause allergic reactions and infections and is especially harmful to people with pre-existing conditions. Though the dispensary associated with Eba Holdings in health department records appears to be out of date, the address matches that of The Mint’s location on Manzanita Drive in Scottsdale. The batch number associated with the tainted strain is 250310S-100.
Kristy Jozwiak, owner and CEO of Duality Public Relations, told Phoenix New Times that the flower came from Sweet O’z Inc., a grower that operates under the company’s license and supervision. She also said the strain initially passed tests from a local independent lab.
It appears the product was going to be sold at an array of dispensaries, but Jozwiak told New Times that The Mint confirmed that the strain had not been shipped to any other dispensaries.
“If customers have any of the affected Sweet O’z flower that’s been recalled, they can return it to any of the Mint’s dispensaries for a full refund,” Jozwiak said.
Another Aspergillus-related recall issued on Wednesday was for a strain called “Birthday Cake” — batch number WCSB080425 — which was manufactured by Life Changers Investment LLC and sold at Cookies Tempe and Nirvana’s six statewide dispensaries. Neither company responded to a New Times inquiry.
The non-fungus recall involved the SAINTS dispensary in Tucson, whose “Saints Bruce Banner” strain of flower tested positive for lead. Lead poisoning can lead to serious health problems like fatigue, headache, nausea and vomiting. The batch number of the affected flower is F8BCBN241209.
SAINTS Dispensary did not answer questions from New Times about product sales, whether they plan to issue refunds for the weed or what may have caused it to be contaminated.
DHS does not test marijuana itself. Instead, it licenses third-party facilities to perform testing. The department’s announcements about the possible contaminants did not say which facility did the testing.
