Cannabis edibles manufacturer suspended by Alaska marijuana office

A Fairbanks-based cannabis edibles company was suspended Friday after the state office that oversees Alaska's marijuana industry said that most of the company's products had not been tested and may contain more THC than allowed.

Frozen Budz, one of the few edibles companies in Alaska, was being investigated Friday after the state says it found that the products did not undergo required testing, but the business owner said the allegations were untrue.

Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office director Erika McConnell said that Frozen Budz products may have "two or three times" the 5 milligram per serving amount of THC, and that "some could have less."

McConnell said the office had received a tip that one of Frozen Budz's products had more THC than allowed. The office bought some of the product, and was in the process of getting it tested, she said.

That investigation "kind of opened up this entire can of worms," McConnell said.

She didn't know how many products — things like cookies, brownies and drinks infused with marijuana — may not have been tested, but that it was at least hundreds.

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Frozen Budz owner Destiny Neade said that the allegations were untrue.

"The way that our tracking system is set up, there's absolutely no way you can move product without it being tested, so I'm not sure how they're saying I'm not testing product," Neade said. "I don't understand."

Frozen Budz has been manufacturing edibles since late November 2016. Neade said that she had products tested at the Anchorage testing lab, CannTest.

CannTest scientific director Jonathan Rupp said Friday that they had tested a number of Frozen Budz products.

McConnell said the office started looking at the issue Thursday.

"We're trying to act fast to try to protect consumers because it's not good that we have no idea whether the labels are accurate," McConnell said. "And whether they are contaminated in other ways."

In Alaska, testing is required for all batches of marijuana and edibles products. That includes tests for THC and contaminants such as mold.

Under Alaska law, edibles must have no more than 5 milligrams of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, per serving. That's less than some other states, like Washington, where each serving may have up to 10 milligrams of THC. Alaska regulators settled on a lower amount to minimize issues with consumers overeating edibles, which was a heated point of discussion at the time that Alaska's laws were being crafted.

Neade said she has a hearing with the Marijuana Control Board on Monday.