Marijuana Mold Recall Hits Multiple Dispensaries in Colorado

Doctor's Orders, a Colorado marijuana dispensary group and growing operation, has voluntarily recalled its retail marijuana plant material over mold and yeast concerns, according to the Denver Department of Public Health and Environment.

The owner of Doctor's Orders, Doctor's Orders LLC, is also a wholesale provider to other stores, the DDPHE announcement says; its products were distributed to at least nine other Denver dispensaries, and could have made it to more pot shops around the state. However, only the Doctor's Orders dispensary in Pueblo West was listed in the recall, and not the Doctor's Orders in Denver.

Any products purchased through July 31 with the license number 403-R-00045 are subject to recall. "Plant material from Doctor’s Orders cultivation may have been sold from other dispensaries other than those listed below if purchased prior to August 1, 2018," the announcement reads. "Consumers who have these recalled products should dispose of the products or return them to the store from which they were purchased."

Stores that could have sold the affected products include but are not limited to:

• Buddy Boy — 4012 West 38th Avenue
  
• Buddy Boy — 3814 Walnut Street
  
• Wolf Pac Cannabis — 74 Federal Boulevard
  
• Frosted Leaf — 445 Federal Boulevard
  
• Frosted Leaf — 6302 East Colfax Avenue
  
• Frosted Leaf — 399 South Harrison Street
  
• The Herbal Center — 1909 South Broadway
  
• The Herbal Center — 12005 East 37th Avenue
  
• Affinity — 7739 East Colfax Avenue
  
• Doctor's Orders — 749 East Enterprises Drive, Pueblo West

The DDPHE says the flagged plant material was discovered during an investigation into the cultivation; there have been no reports of illnesses connected to the affected products, but the agency warns against consuming anything tainted with potentially harmful mold or yeast particles.

Doctor's Orders management initially sent Westword a statement from Willow Industries, a completely different company that produces "cannabis decontamination technology," which Doctor's Orders plans to use on the flagged plant material before attempting to sell it for consumption.

"In an effort to protect consumer safety and produce the cleanest cannabis possible, Doctor's Orders has implemented post-harvest cannabis purification technology developed by Willow Industries," Willow Industries CEO Jill Ellsworth says in the statement. "We are dedicated to regaining the trust of our consumers and we feel confident the WillowPure will help to ensure the end product is safe for consumption."

Doctor's Orders followed up with an emailed statement clarifying that the products at the Denver store are "safe to consume" and have passed state containment testing. "All products that are being sold out of our retail shop are perfectly safe to consume and have passed all testing required by the state of Colorado. If there are any questions or concerns, we are more than happy to address them. We are fully dedicated to providing our customers with high quality, clean products," the company's statement reads.

The Doctor's Order recall is the third marijuana recall to hit the metro area within the month, with Denver dispensary Lush and Boulder dispensary Boulder Botanics both issuing recalls for potentially unsafe pesticide use. While pesticide recalls have occurred since 2015, recalls over mold concerns are much more rare, and the first was just last year.

Any consumer questions for Doctor's Orders should be emailed to [email protected], according to the DDPHE.

Update: This article was updated at 10 a.m. Tuesday, December 18, to add a statement from Doctor's Orders.