West Coast Cure Releases Public Statement (2024)

The company highlights rigorous testing practices and calls for improved oversight of cannabis testing laboratories

For Immediate Release

ORANGE COUNTY, CA, JULY 2, 2024 – West Coast Cure is aware of the L.A. Times articles about the lack of oversight of cannabis testing laboratories in California and the class-action lawsuit that was filed against West Coast Cure on the same day the initial article was published.

First and foremost, we want our customers to know that providing safe, quality products is our highest priority. West Coast Cure sources quality material for our products from vendor partners with whom we have long-standing relationships. We have passing compliance tests from state-licensed laboratories for every one of our products that is sold to consumers. In addition, we do quality control testing with labs before production and packaging. In 2023 alone, West Coast Cure invested nearly $1 million in testing, utilizing multiple licensed laboratories to perform thousands of tests.

Like all manufacturers in the industry, we have had batches of products fail compliance testing. In every single one of those instances, we destroyed the products and sent recordings of the destructions to the California Department of Cannabis Control (“DCC”). We have also had source material fail quality control testing that we do prior to packaging. In those circ*mstances, we returned that material to the vendors. In fact, there have even been multiple occasions where we sourced HTE from another well-known brand that provided passing tests from one of the very same labs used by the L.A. Times. However, when we ran our own quality control tests (as we always do), the material came back positive for pesticides. We retained the tests and returned all of the products, as is our practice.

We note that there have been vague, unsupported references to “lab shopping.” West Coast Cure strongly denies any allegation of lab shopping. We have asked the DCC on several occasions to provide a list of licensed laboratories that they have determined to be better than other labs. In each instance, the DCC responded by saying they would not recommend one lab over another lab.

At the end of the day, West Coast Cure is not a testing laboratory, nor are we permitted to be one by California regulations. The system set up by the State requires us to rely on tests conducted by third-party laboratories that have been licensed and certified by the State of California to perform the required tests in accordance with the regulations. We strongly believe the DCC should adopt, implement, and enforce rules for testing laboratories to ensure that testing is done correctly and in a way that produces comprehensive, accurate, and consistent results across all laboratories.

The State has established proficiency testing standards that do not mirror the standards that are established for compliance tests. Another respected brand recently posted about sending five samples from the same batch of product to five different labs and getting five different test results. We want to work with industry leaders and the DCC to create standards, third-party accreditation, and other requirements that all laboratories must follow in order to achieve accurate, consistent, and verifiable results. This is the only way to have fair comparisons and ensure that test results are consistent and accurate in order to re-instill consumer confidence in lab testing.

West Coast Cure is committed to continuous improvement to ensure that we exceed industry standards and comply with all applicable government regulations. We share the goal of making sure Californians enjoy safe and legal cannabis. We would welcome the opportunity to work with the DCC and industry stakeholders to improve testing standards and oversight.

Serious Questions about the Quality of Reporting and the Conduct and Motivation of Key Players

West Coast Cure recently learned of the lawsuit brought by two labs against several other labs, which was also filed on the same day the first article was published by the L.A. Times. The timing, substance, and coordination of the media coverage and the lawsuits, as well as the players behind it all, raise serious questions as to whether this is part of a coordinated campaign by two labs to target other labs in the industry in order to eliminate them from the market and seek financial gain.

We find it curious that the L.A. Times claims that they chose brands for so-called testing based largely on the “advice” of the very same labs that are now using litigation to collect a payday at the expense of other labs. The L.A. Times stated in a companion article that “Samples were selected for a variety of reasons: sales promotions, unusually high potency levels, or they were named in complaints to regulators.” Yet, several brands with “failing” tests only had one product tested. West Coast Cure had a disproportionate number of products tested, and we now know that West Coast Cure is the only brand that is the subject of a class action lawsuit. A lawsuit, by the way, filed by the very same law firms who represent the labs in their lawsuit against other labs.

West Coast Cure is now caught in the crossfire of what appears to be a coordinated campaign to weaponize the media, government regulators, and the judicial system by a few actors to drive lab competitors out of business and make a buck.

We posed several questions to the reporter about the story, including about the apparent lack of compliance with state-mandated testing protocols, the lack of evidence explaining why their tests were accurate, and others were not, and whether they investigated the labs making the claims to determine the motives behind their efforts. We asked these questions several times, yet the reporters chose not to answer us. In a story with over 5,100 words, they included just over two brief paragraphs, or 133 words, to questions about the inexact nature of pesticide testing. They did not include anything on the conduct or motives of the complaining labs.

We explained our testing practices discussed above to the L.A. Times reporter. We even shared several videos of products that failed compliance testing being destroyed. We also understand that the L.A. Times asked at least one lab to purchase and test multiple West Coast Cure products, and those products received passing tests. Again, for some reason, the reporter chose to omit this information from the articles.

We would like to know why this important information was left out of the L.A. Times stories and why they did not mention the financial motives of the labs that claimed to be whistleblowers. We would also like to know why they held brands accountable for possible lab testing inconsistency instead of the labs themselves when the labs have sole control over the testing process.

We remain undeterred by this apparent money-making scheme by these labs and special interests. We will continue to deliver fully tested, exceptional products and maintain the trust of our customers.

Please let us know if you are interested in speaking with a spokesperson from West Coast Cure.

About West Coast Cure:
West Coast Cure is one of California’s oldest and finest cannabis brands. We are driven by a singular passion: to produce the highest-quality cannabis products on the market today at the most affordable prices. Consumers have come to trust West Coast Cure because of our decade-long experience in hunting and selecting the gassiest strains while fostering relationships with top cultivators and innovative wax artists. West Coast Cure is available at your local dispensary or delivery service in California.

Media Contact:
media@westcoastcure.com