2 marijuana businesses could lose licenses under CCB complaints

Two marijuana businesses could lose their licenses and be barred from the industry, one for up to 10 years, under the latest round of complaints authorized against marijuana companies by the state Cannabis Compliance Board on Tuesday.

The board approved two additional complaints, one that would slap a 30-day suspension and fine a third company, and another that would fine a fourth. In all, the four companies could see fines assessed totaling more than $100,000.

The compliance board formally took over regulation of the state’s marijuana businesses in July and has moved quickly to assert its authority against companies that violate the state’s strict marijuana laws. Companies cited in the complaints have a right to appear before the board to dispute the charges.

Gravitas Nevada Ltd. of Las Vegas, with licenses for medical and recreational marijuana production, faces revocation of those licenses, a $52,500 fine, and a nearly 10-year industry ban following incidents that date back to spring 2018.

According to the board complaint, company employees took cannabis product home and reported it as destroyed. Some of the product removed from the facility ended up in the hands of a minor, who took it to school.

The company self-reported the incident to authorities and shut down for a month to investigate. It faces penalties for making false statements and for allowing 10 employees to “divert a significant amount of cannabis product” that had been slated for destruction.

The other complaints:

■ Polaris Wellness Center LLC of Las Vegas faces license revocation, a $23,250 fine, and a six-year ban from the industry following a routine inspection in January that found 165 pounds of raw and package marijuana improperly stored, in addition to facility violations including dirty ventilation ducts, improperly sealed emergency exits, and a dirty sink in a fertilization area.

■ Tryke Companies Reno LLC faces a 30-day suspension and a $17,555 fine following a routine audit in July that found the company not properly reconciling inventory records to physical inventory, not labeling certain products as required, and not reporting the destruction of cannabis products ahead of time, also as required.

■ Tahoe-Reno Botanicals LLC faces a $9,138 fine after a June audit found the company not properly disposing of cannabis waste by grinding it up with bleach and kitty litter as required. The audit also found the company not generating proper product transportation manifests.

Some of the fines include the board’s costs to investigate the complaints.

Contact Capital Bureau reporter Bill Dentzer at bdentzer@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DentzerNews on Twitter.