LAS VEGAS (AP) — A state board charged with overseeing Nevada’s booming marijuana industry suspended the license of a cannabis grow house near Las Vegas on Tuesday after inspectors said they found unregistered plants at the ability that pose an “immediate threat to public health and safety.”
Helping Hands Wellness Center is accused of using a storage closet and the ability’s attic to cover untagged and untested cannabis plants from auditors. State officials warned that plants not registered to Nevada’s regulatory “seed-to-sale” tracking system are liable to entering the illicit market.
The board said it had conducted a monthslong investigation into Helping Hands before voting unanimously Tuesday afternoon to force the North Las Vegas production and cultivation facility to shut its doors and alter the locks until business owners can address the state’s concerns.
A lawyer for Helping Hands didn’t reply to emails requesting comment.
The state’s investigation included on-site inspections and a review of security camera footage that exposed the corporate’s efforts to maintain its stock of untagged plants and cannabis products a secret from auditors, in keeping with a report summarizing the board’s findings obtained by The Associated Press.
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On Dec. 7, during certainly one of the board’s on-site visits, Helping Hands employees were caught on camera discussing “a plan to hide harvested cannabis” within the attic before allowing the inspectors into the ability.
Then, the footage showed, the workers and a manager “concealing cannabis” in a storage closet while the auditors “conducted their inspection elsewhere within the Facility.” One other worker also was caught on camera talking on the phone about moving untagged cannabis clones — trimmings from a bigger plant — from the production house when the auditors left, in keeping with the report.
Along with hiding the unregistered cannabis plants and products, inspectors noted additional security concerns of their report, including malfunctioning key cards and unlocked doors “that could possibly be pushed open by anyone attempting to enter.”
Helping Hands must correct the problems at its facility with approval from the state before its license could be reinstated by the board. Until then, in keeping with the board’s emergency suspension order, “no one may enter” the ability apart from one designated worker who shall be liable for watering the cannabis plants.
The suspension marked the primary issued by the compliance board in 2023 because the state prepares to open its first marijuana lounges this yr.
As of this month, there have been greater than 700 energetic medical and recreational operational licenses in Nevada, in keeping with data maintained by the board.
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