Your Passing Lab Result Might Be Wrong — Here's Why

By Ken Fry, Terps USA Research — sourced from Terps USA Research

Short answer

A passing lab certificate is a guarantee that a laboratory reported a passing result — not a guarantee that the product is actually clean. Multiple state-licensed cannabis testing labs have had their results called into question in the last two years, and cultivators who relied on those results had no way to know before their product reached consumers.

The lab is a link in the chain, not the end of it

Mandatory testing exists for a reason and remains essential. But testing infrastructure has proven fallible at multiple points across multiple states, and that fallibility is a risk cultivators can't manage through cultivation practice alone.

The Michigan case

In August 2025, Michigan regulators finalized a settlement with Viridis Laboratories — at one point the facility responsible for testing a majority of the state's cannabis — that revoked its Lansing license and permanently banned its founders from the industry. Regulators had alleged the lab failed to follow approved testing procedures; available reporting noted Viridis had reported Aspergillus contamination failures at a rate roughly 89% lower than competing labs in the state. Viridis disputed the allegations for years and entered the settlement while continuing to stand by its results — this is a disputed matter resolved by settlement, not an adjudicated finding. The episode traces back to a November 2021 recall that removed an estimated $229 million in product from Michigan shelves.

It wasn't isolated

In February 2026, the New York Office of Cannabis Management issued a precautionary recall after an audit found Keystone State Testing New York had reported Aspergillus results incorrectly across 54 product lots, with one additional lot affected by an incorrectly reported cadmium result. In Oklahoma, Greenleaf Labs was suspended after regulators identified unreliable safety results. This is a pattern showing up across states, not a single bad actor.

What this means if you're the cultivator

Operators who paid for testing and received passing certificates of analysis had, in some documented cases, unknowingly distributed product that didn't meet safety standards. Neither cultivators, distributors, nor dispensaries had a mechanism to catch that before product reached consumers.

The practical takeaway

This isn't an argument against mandatory testing. It's an argument for reducing microbial load before the product ever reaches the lab, so that even if lab performance degrades, the baseline contamination level going in is already lower. A cultivator who has reduced baseline load carries a deeper margin of safety than one relying on testing as the sole line of defense.

FAQ

Can a cannabis testing lab's passing result still be wrong?

Yes. A licensed, state-approved testing facility's results can later be found unreliable, as established by the Viridis Laboratories and Keystone State Testing cases. A passing test result is a guarantee that a laboratory reported a passing result — not a guarantee that the underlying product is actually clean.

What happened with Viridis Laboratories in Michigan?

In August 2025, Michigan regulators finalized a settlement with Viridis Laboratories that revoked its Lansing license and banned its founders from the state's cannabis industry, following allegations that it failed to follow approved testing procedures and underreported Aspergillus contamination. Viridis disputed the allegations for years and entered the settlement while continuing to stand by its results.

How can a cultivator protect against unreliable lab results?

Since a cultivator can't verify a laboratory's internal reliability, the recommended approach is reducing the product's baseline microbial load before it reaches the lab, so that even if lab performance degrades, the starting contamination level is already lower.

Sources

1. Fry, K. (2026). "The Aspergillus Tax: How Microbial Contamination Is Costing Cannabis Cultivators Six Figures Per Recall." Terps USA Research. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.20852700

2. Crain's Detroit / The Detroit News (2025). Viridis Laboratories settlement, license revocation, and founder bans; 2021 recall background. (Viridis disputed the allegations.)

3. New York Office of Cannabis Management (2026, Feb 27). Precautionary recall for products tested by Keystone Lab.

This article is for informational and industry education purposes only. Terps USA products do not contain THC or CBD. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. Readers are encouraged to consult the cited primary sources directly.