New York regulators have placed a quarantine on approximately $10 million worth of cannabis products, impacting several well-known brands in the state. As of April 23, the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) has halted the sale of vaporizers, pre-rolls, and other cannabis items due to an investigation into potential illegal ‘inversion.’ This practice involves introducing cannabis grown outside of New York into the state’s regulated retail market.
The quarantine affects products from both local brands and national companies, including mfused and Stiiizy. Other local brands impacted include Animal, Bodega Boyz, Muha Meds, Smoke, and To The Moon, along with certain pre-rolls from Adonis Cannabis.
According to reports from The New York Times, the OCM’s investigation is centered around Omnium Health, a Long Island-based processor that operates under the name Omnium Canna. Regulators are examining the source of the cannabis oil extracted by the company to determine if it was obtained through legal channels.
In response to the quarantine, mfused, based in Seattle, expressed confidence in the legality of its products. Stiiizy, headquartered in Los Angeles, stated that it does not anticipate finding evidence of inversion.
The quarantine is disrupting operations in New York’s $1 billion regulated cannabis market, particularly as many of the affected products were already sold to consumers during the recent 4/20 sales period.
Omnium Health asserts that regulators have confirmed all extraction took place at an approved location, but the OCM has not verified this claim as of the latest update. Depending on the findings of the investigation, the quarantined products may either be released for sale or ordered for destruction through a recall.
New York’s cannabis regulatory framework is currently hampered by the absence of a functioning track-and-trace system, which complicates efforts to monitor product sourcing and sales. Operators from states with established track-and-trace systems have noted that it is possible to bypass these controls, raising concerns about compliance and product integrity in the market.
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