JEFFERSON CITY — State officials said Thursday they will revoke a Franklin County-based company’s marijuana products manufacturing license — four months after suspending the firm’s operations.
The Division of Cannabis Regulation said in a news release Thursday that Robertsville-based Delta Extraction committed “significant violations” of Missouri cannabis regulations and that the company’s license will be revoked on Dec. 2.
The state described violations Thursday that were in addition to the company’s use of hemp-derived THC-A, sourced from outside the state, for products on the legal Missouri market, which the state has said was against regulations.
Delta has argued the process was allowed under previous state regulations.
Chuck Hatfield, attorney for Delta Extraction, said in a statement Thursday that the state’s actions were “illegal and unfounded.”
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“The issue stems from Delta using legal hemp products in its legal marijuana products,” Hatfield said, adding that internal state documents showed that a state compliance officer told her supervisors she believed Delta’s process was legal.
“We are perplexed as to why they ignored her,” Hatfield said.
In addition to the hemp-derived THC-A, state officials said Delta falsified seed-to-sale tracking data, failed to ensure all product was traceable in a state system, and failed to ensure all product was compliantly tested.
The state also said Delta packaged products in a false and misleading manner and that it failed to meet required security standards.
The state suspended Delta Extraction on Aug. 2 and recalled thousands of its products later that month, saying officials could not verify that Delta products were sourced from Missouri’s legal marijuana program.
The company filed a challenge to its suspension with the state Administrative Hearing Commission.
A Delta attorney said at an August hearing that a process used at the company’s facility involved using hemp-derived THC-A, sourced from outside of Missouri. When heated, THC-A converts to THC, which gets users high.
The state said Thursday it issued a notice of pending revocation to Delta on Aug. 11 due to “significant and extensive violations of the rules.”
The state issued a revised notice Sept. 1 that included additional violations.
The state said it revoked the company’s license Thursday after giving it an opportunity to respond or fix deficiencies outlined by the state.
“While Delta Extraction’s use of out-of-state cannabis in our regulated system has been well-publicized and is a critical issue, DCR also found numerous other violations of rules at this facility,” Amy Moore, director of the Division of Cannabis Regulation, said in a statement Thursday.
“Businesses that choose to participate in Missouri’s marijuana industry do not get to decide which rules and which parts of Article XIV (the constitutional amendment legalizing marijuana) they want to follow,” Moore said.
Delta Extraction is registered as a limited liability company with the Missouri secretary of state and its registered agent is Joshua Corson, who lists a Clayton address.