Michigan Regulators Close Viridis Marijuana Testing Labs, Ban Former Police Owners

Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA) has permanently barred Viridis Laboratories, a marijuana testing lab run by former state police officers, from the cannabis industry and ordered its Bay City location to close by September 28, 2025. The CRA's action follows a years-long dispute triggered by allegations that Viridis inflated THC potency results and approved products that should have failed testing, leading to a massive 2021 recall of nearly 64,000 pounds of cannabis worth $292 million. CRA Director Brian Hanna condemned Viridis for a deliberate pattern of noncompliance that undermined confidence in the state's cannabis system and pushed competitors out of business. Viridis and its majority owners—Todd Welch, Gregoire Michaud, and Michele Glinn—have agreed to drop ongoing lawsuits against the CRA as part of the settlement. State regulators are developing a state-run cannabis testing lab to improve oversight, expected to open in 2026. Meanwhile, in Oklahoma, Havard Industries has promoted transparency in cannabis testing by livestreaming their processes to restore public trust following the shutdown of another lab due to contamination issues.