Mississippi
Shutdown of Natchez cannabis testing lab based on anonymous tip forces closure of about 70 percent of state’s dispensaries – Mississippi's Best Community Newspaper
Shutdown of Natchez cannabis testing lab based on anonymous tip forces closure of about 70 percent of state’s dispensaries
Published 11:52 am Tuesday, December 26, 2023
NATCHEZ — The Mississippi State Department of Health has shut down the operations of a Natchez cannabis testing facility — one of only two in the state — based on an anonymous tip.
Natchez resident Mamie Henry, whose company, Missla LLC, is majority owner of Rapid Analytics of 131 Jeff Davis Blvd. Suite C, said the company received an email from the state department that oversees medical marijuana on Wednesday of last week, telling them to “cease and desist” operations.
In addition, none of the medical dispensaries whose cannabis was tested by Rapid Analytics of Natchez can sell any of those products.
After receiving the email from the state official, Henry said, “I called everybody I possibly could and finally got someone on the phone and was told that the state received an anonymous tip that we weren’t testing properly.”
A statement on the Mississippi State Department of Health website dated Dec. 21 does not mention Rapid Analytics, but reads the an administrative hold has been placed on “a large number of medical cannabis products until retesting can be conducted to ensure that various products meet regulatory standards. The Mississippi Medical Cannabis Program is taking swift action to address the situation, with retesting being done as quickly as possible.”
Henry said 70 percent of all of the cannabis products sold in Mississippi are tested by Rapid Analytics.
“They sent out a notice to all dispensaries and manufacturers telling them that all of the products tested by our lab are all quarantined,” Henry said. “That has put these people out of business. There are a lot of mom and pop dispensaries who won’t survive this.”
On Nov. 18, 2022, the state gave its approval to Rapid Analytics here as a cannabis testing facility. Dr. Jeff Keller, Ph.D., is the company’s founder and was majority owner. Henry’s company has since bought majority ownership in the Rapid Analytics, but Keller is still a partner and minority owner, she said.
Keller is also the director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at Pennington Biomedical in Baton Rouge. He continues to direct all scientific operations at Rapid Analytics. Henry’s company manages the business operations of the facility, she said.
“We had a meeting with them (state officials) on Wednesday after we received the email, and they told us the way we were reporting the testing of pesticides is different than what we said we were going to do when we got our license,” Henry said “Our scientists explained how we are doing it is much more detailed because we don’t want to just be accredited by the state, but we want to be federally accredited, and this is what is required for federal accreditation.
“In the meantime, we have heard nothing from them since Wednesday. They are corresponding with all of the growers and sellers who do business with us, but are not copying us,” she said.
As for disturbing, Henry said, is the state has now contracted with Rapid Analytics’ only competitor in the state — Steep Hill Mississippi of Jackson — to test products from companies currently doing business with Rapid Analytics.
“What are they testing? We have offered to get to them the samples we have from the products we tested, but they have not responded to that. They would test those samples for free. But instead, they are paying our competitor to test, but they aren’t retesting the samples that we have already tested. That’s not an apples to apples comparison,” Henry said.
“We just had a week-long audit by the state in August and passed it with flying colors. We are not doing anything differently now than we were doing then,” she said. “This is a fragile industry. It’s just starting up in Mississippi, and they make a knee-jerk decision to shut us down without anything other than an anonymous tip? Our lab still has its samples on everything we have tested and we have been retesting everything since Wednesday. Meanwhile, the state is not communicating with us, but is working with and paying out only competitor in the state.
“We have urged the state to meet with us, but they have told us the earliest opportunity for that is 3 p.m. on Thursday. In the meantime, they are speaking to everyone in the industry, except us — all based on an anonymous tip,” Henry said.
No one answered the phone at the contact number for the State Department of Health’s Medical Cannabis Program. A recording said the office was closed late Tuesday morning.
There were several top performers across the state in boys high school sports, but only one can be voted athlete of the week for Sept. 2-7.
Fans may vote in the poll BELOW one time per hour per device. The poll closes at noon on Friday.
To nominate a future athlete of the week, email mchavez@gannett.com or message him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
To submit high school scores, statistics, records, leaders and other items at any time, email mchavez@gannett.com.
Nominations
Kendetryon Backstrom, Kemper County: Backstrom had 247 passing yards, going 13-of-16 on completions for with two touchdowns and had six carries for 45 yards and three touchdowns in Kemper County’s 46-8 win over Noxapater.
Ronde Baker, Terry: Baker produced 171 rushing yards on 12 carries with four touchdowns in Terry’s 57-6 win over Pure Academy.
Wyatt Bond, Lamar School: Bond recorded 320 passing yards, going 24-of-37 with three touchdowns, and had 43 rushing yards and two touchdowns in Lamar’s 35-34 loss to Winston Academy.
Coby King, Greene County: King was 24-of-35 passing for 418 yards with a touchdown and had 11 carries for 137 rushing yards with four touchdowns in Greene County’s 51-36 loss to George County.
Tray Kinkle, Holly Springs: Kinkle produced 10 carries for 300 yards and four touchdowns in Holly Springs’ 33-0 win over Byers.
Tyshun Willis, Velma Jackson: Willis had 15 carries for 203 rushing yards with a touchdown, four receptions with 59 receiving yards, and a touchdown. On defense, he recorded four sacks, 8.5 tackles and three tackles for loss in Velma Jackson’s 24-22 win over Yazoo County.
Michael Chavez covers high school sports, among others, for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at mchavez@gannett.com or reach out to him on X, formerly Twitter @MikeSChavez.
GRENADA COUNTY, Miss. (WJTV) – A Mississippi woman was killed during a two-vehicle crash in Grenada County.
Officials with the Mississippi Highway Patrol (MHP) said the crash occurred on Highway 7 just after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, September 7.
Mississippi woman killed in head-on crash in Louisiana
According to MHP, a 2002 Toyota Sequoia was traveling north on the highway when the vehicle collided with a Mercedes van that was also traveling north.
The driver of the Mercedes, 53-year-old Loretta Hopkins, of Winona, died at the scene.
This crash remains under investigation by MHP.
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Outside of Mississippi State, Arkansas and Auburn, the SEC had a very successful Week Two of the college football season. The latest AP Top 25 poll reflects the strength of the SEC with 6 of the top 7 spots belonging to SEC teams.
Here’s a recap of how the ranked SEC teams fared in the second full week of the college football season:
Click here for a recap of the unranked SEC teams.
With the exception of giving up three points, this was probably exactly how Georgia expected this game to go. Carson Beck threw five touchdowns and the defense held Tennessee Tech to less than 150 yards of total offense. Anything less would be a surprise.
More than 100,000 people saw Texas come into Ann Arbor, Mich. and leave with a huge win. The Longhorns looked like the better team from the first drive of the game where they easily marched down the field. That Oct. 19 game in Austin against Georgia is looking better and better.
It was a lot closer than Alabama would’ve liked, but it’s a win that will fend off the “Nick Saban is gone, we’re doomed” crowd. At the same time, though, there were some things that crowd could point to at a later time.
Two games against inferior competition and Ole Miss has outscored its opponents 129-3. They’ll take a slight step up in competition next week against Wake Forest, but the Rebels are still about a month away from playing a team that will truly test them.
Missouri’s schedule just took an unexpected bump in its level of difficulty with No. 24 Boston College joining the top 25. Bill O’Brien is brilliant at game planning and calling plays (not so much with making trades, but that hasn’t reached the college ranks yet). Missouri needs to be on upset alert (and ready to stop the run).
This happens every year. Tennessee looks really good to start the season and by the end Volunteer fans are saying next year is their year. But maybe this year is their year with the way Nico Iamaleava has been playing.
Of the two SEC newcomers, Texas is getting most of the attention which makes sense based on the current teams. But folks, don’t sleep on the Sooners. They ruined many of my own childhood memories growing up in Texas. This week’s way-too close game doesn’t help that argument, but think long term.
LSU was one of three SEC teams to play FCS schools after playing top 25 teams last week. The Tigers and Texas A&M both lost, while Georgia won. So, it’s not surprising to see each of them play FCS teams and neither were any of the results.
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