The Mississippi State Department of Health has revoked the license for one of the state’s three medical-cannabis testing labs following an investigation that revealed “significant deviations from regulatory standards and approved procedures,” MSDH said in a statement on Thursday.
The department put products tested at the Rapid Analytics lab in Natchez, Miss., on hold in December after another lab detected toxins in samples Rapid Analytics had already cleared.
“Medical cannabis testing is critical to ensuring product safety for patients, and Rapid Analytics’ disregard for regulatory compliance poses a threat to public health and welfare,” MSDH said. “As such, MSDH has determined to revoke the establishment’s license effective March 13, 2024.”
Rapid Analytics once tested 70% of the state’s medical cannabis. Mississippi now has two medical-cannabis testing labs, including Steep Hill Mississippi in Jackson and Alchemy Analytics in Meridian, which opened earlier this year after the State put a hold on products tested by Rapid Analytics. MSDH Director of External Affairs and Media Relations told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday that the department expects a third testing lab will open in the near future.
Concerns about the Natchez lab arose after Rapid Analytics and Steep Hill tested the same cannabis sample, but Steep Hill’s analysis showed impurities while Rapid Analytics’ did not, Mississippi Independent Cannabis Association Executive Director Mike Watkins told the Mississippi Free Press on Jan. 8.
After receiving a tip, MSDH put an administrative hold on some medical-cannabis products the lab tested in December and temporarily suspended Rapid Analytics’ license. The department has not released the source of the tip.
Hardy Case, a consultant for 74 Suns in Canton, Miss., told the Mississippi Free Press that testing has slowed since Rapid Analytics’ suspension while more testing labs wait for approval to open.
“Since the initial suspension in December, it’s taken tests about twice to three times as long as it took before the initial suspension. And that time frame has carried over to today still,” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Thursday.
Rapid Analytics has 20 days to appeal MSDH’s decision. While Case said he is unsure what caused MSDH to revoke the lab’s license, the public will know the investigation’s results after the appeals process.
“This is unprecedented in a brand new lab in a brand new industry to lose its license like this,” he said.
Case said he had hoped the state would have at least six testing labs open by now and has heard rumors of labs opening that have not come to fruition. He said he wants MSDH to speed up the process for medical-cannabis testing labs to open but was relieved to learn that the State had already contracted with Alchemy Analytics so Steep Hill is not bearing the testing burden alone.
“Hopefully the industry will find out what occurred with Rapid Analytics sooner than later so potential labs who may want to open up will know more clearly what to do and what not to do,” the consultant said.
Case said the State should spend some money to attract new testing labs or even send products out of state for testing to speed up approvals. MSDH and the Legislature could incentivize entrepreneurs to open labs in Mississippi, he added, noting that Mississippi’s medical-cannabis program brought in over $37 million for the state from 2022 to 2023. He urged leaders to ensure medical-cannabis products are available to patients and businesses that rely on it.
“We now have thousands of Mississippians working, paying their bills, depending on the cannabis industry,” he said. “New businesses are coming up daily.”
The Mississippi Free Press called Rapid Analytics for an interview but did not hear back by press time.
