UPDATE: This story now includes comments from Maxwell Murphy of Choice Labs, who contacted MLive following the publishing of this story.

LANSING, MI -- Even though most marijuana for sale on Michigan medical dispensary and recreational store shelves came from state-registered caregivers, the state says it can’t trace the outbreak of a potentially deadly contaminant back to its source.

A recent recall of vaping cartridges that tested positive for vitamin E acetate, which the Marijuana Regulatory Agency has banned due to its association with vaping-related lung illnesses and deaths, illuminated a weakness in Michigan’s marijuana tracking system. The state knows where the tainted vape cartridges ended up, but not which caregivers they came from.

A state database tracks registered medical marijuana caregiver identities, but regulators can’t legally look up their names, Marijuana Regulatory Agency spokesman David Harns said.

It is due to privacy stipulations written into the 2008 voter-passed medical marijuana law.

“The department shall verify to law enforcement personnel and to the necessary database ... whether a registry identification card is valid, without disclosing more information than is reasonably necessary to verify the authenticity of the registry identification card,” the law says.

“The data in the (caregiver) registry is confidential,” Harns said. “We don’t share it between the program areas without the caregivers’ consent, as it would be a violation of the law.”

Furthermore, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency doesn’t limit how much marijuana a caregiver may sell into the licensed market. “We do not regulate caregiver activities," Harns said.

The only stipulation is that the marijuana, which can be flower or finished products, like vaping cartridges, be purchased, logged and tested to under state guidelines by a state-licensed marijuana grower or processor. Those businesses may then transfer or wholesale the marijuana to retail medical and recreational marijuana shops.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency ended a practice that lasted from January 2019 through April of last year under which caregivers were able to sell untested product directly to provisioning centers for sale, so long as customer signed waivers acknowledging they knew the risks.

Beginning March 1, the Marijuana Regulatory Agency is further cinching the caregiver pipeline by only allowing them to transfer flower -- no edibles, vaping products or concentrates -- to licensed growers and processors.

Over the first six months of the licensed medical marijuana market’s existence, nearly 93 percent of all flower sales originated from caregiver product. As of December, that figure had decreased to about 63%, according to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

There were 36,392 registered caregivers in Michigan as of December, according to the Marijuana Regulatory Agency.

Antonio Mansor, the Director of Retail Compliance for Southfield-based Pharmaco, which operates eight medical dispensaries and a grow operation, said caregiver product is frequently bought and sold using LeafLink, an online marketplace for Michigan’s licensed marijuana industry.

While marijuana may originate from a caregiver, it’s distributed and sold through licensed marijuana businesses, Mansor said.

Any licensed grower or processor that purchases caregiver product must include the caregiver’s license number when transferring it into the state tracking system, according to screen shots of the process available on the Marijuana Regulatory Website.

Twice, on Dec. 17 and Jan. 22, batches of Savage Cannabis brand Savage Sticks vaping cartridges were recalled for the presence of vitamin E acetate.

Michigan’s marijuana industry uses Metrc, sophisticated tracking software that allows the Michigan Marijuana Regulatory Agency to watch product as it flows through the supply chain and changes hands, beginning with seeds and seedlings to finished flower, concentrate, edibles, vaping cartridges or other products sold off recreational store and medical dispensary shelves.

The system ensures only tested product makes it to market, and if there is an issue, that regulators are able to identify the source of marijuana products.

However, this is not possible when the origin is a caregiver.

The loophole allows large quantities of marijuana and marijuana products that originate from unlicensed, unknown caregivers to be sold in Michigan dispensaries and retail stores.

There’s no way to tell if the caregiver personally cultivated the marijuana, since the product isn’t tracked until after transfer to the licensed market, Harns said. This means caregivers may act as brokers of marijuana into the licensed market.

Harns said it’s illegal to import out-of-state marijuana for commercial sale in Michigan.

Despite the cloak of anonymity bestowed on caregivers, MLive attempted to identify the manufacturer of 9,380 vitamin E-contaminated Savage Sticks brand THC distillate vaping cartridges the state recalled Jan. 22.

The search for Savage Sticks

The website for a company calling itself Savage Cannabis advertises the Savage Sticks vaping cartridges that were distributed to licensed medical marijuana dispensaries across Michigan.

The Savage Cannabis website lists more than 20 licensed medical marijuana dispensaries as customers. While there’s a company website, the Savage Cannabis contact information doesn’t lead to anyone willing to acknowledge a connection with the company.

MLive visited the listed address at a Metro Detroit office plaza and found an accounting firm that denied having any affiliation with or knowledge of Savage Cannabis or Savage Sticks. The phone number on the website is answered by Choice Labs, a company that operates two medical provisioning centers in the Jackson area. Choice Labs’ location at 33331 Page Ave. in Leoni Township is also licensed for retail sales and Choice Labs operates grow and processing facilities in Jackson.

“Why would you call the dispensary here and ask” about Savage Sticks, said a man who answered the phone Thursday, Jan. 23. He was unaware that the Choice Labs phone number was listed on the Savage Cannabis website. The man said he would have a representative from Choice Labs contact MLive to clear up any misunderstanding but MLive didn’t heard back.

“We’re proud to manufacture the following brands: CHOICE, Drip Premium Wood Tip Cartridges, Midnight Roots, Mary’s Medicinals, Dixie, Platinum Vape, and Savage Cannabis,” Choice Labs’ website says.

In response to this story, Maxwell Murphy, Choice Labs’ head of compliance, contacted MLive and issued this statement:

Choice Labs is not named in the recall because we are not the manufacturer of the products that were recalled. Choice Labs has never used vitamin E acetate at our facility, and every vape cartridge Choice has manufactured has passed testing for Vitamin E Acetate. We support the changes (the Marijuana Regulatory Agency) has made to ensure patient safety. (the Marijuana Regulatory Agency) has long ago stopped allowing provisioning centers to purchased untested material from caregivers. More recently, (the Marijuana Regulatory Agency) has taken massive action to ensure every cartridge sold by a licensed provisioning center after November 22nd has passed testing for Vitamin E acetate.

Murphy believes the recalled Savage Sticks are “old inventory” and the result of unlicensed caregiver sales direct to provisioning centers, a practice that is no longer allowed.

He said there was a “big problem” with black-market producers mimicking packaging of and selling popular vaping cartridges, like Savage Sticks.

Murphy had no explanation as to why the address on the Savage Cannabis website leads to an accounting firm that claims no connection with the brand.

Savage Sticks are currently produced with marijuana grown by Choice Labs or caregiver product that is tested to state standards prior to distribution, Muprhy said.

Vitamin E acetate, the contaminant responsible for the Savage Sticks recall, until last summer was considered a safe ingredient.

A nationwide vaping-related lung illness outbreak that the Centers for Disease control said is suspected of killing 60 people, including two in Michigan, and hospitalizing nearly 2,700 nationwide, was “strongly linked” to the use of vitamin E acetate.

Vitamin E acetate is a cutting agent that was used to inconspicuously adulterate THC distillate and increase its volume, and thereby profits.

A Sept. 12 Instagram post on the Savage Cannabis page assured customers it doesn't use vitamin E acetate. The post was removed from the Instagram page Jan. 24.

Following the lung illness outbreak, Savage Cannabis on Sept. 12 took to its Instagram page to post lengthy assurance to customers that it has never used vitamin E acetate in its vaping products.

“Our patients’ safety and health is our #1 priority with Savage Cannabis products,” the post said. “We ensure that all our cartridges do not contain vitamin E acetate and we use nothing but top-quality premium THC.”

The post appeared to be deleted from the Savage Cannabis Instagram page on the afternoon of Jan. 24. It was visible earlier the same day.

The Marijuana Regulatory Agency on Nov. 22 issued a ban on vitamin E acetate and ordered all vaping products be pulled from shelves across the state until they could be tested for its presence.

-- Gus Burns is the marijuana beat reporter for MLive. Contact him with questions, tips or comments at fburns@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter, @GusBurns. Read more from MLive about medical and recreational marijuana.

More on MLive:

Michigan recalls Savage Sticks vaping products

Michigan recalls nearly 65,000 vape cartridges

Michigan bans vitamin E acetate in vaping products

Michigan marijuana industry supports vitamin E acetate ban

Michigan issued first recreational licenses

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