CCC Expands Fallout of Assured Testing Suspension With Statewide Health Advisory

Published: 30 June 2025

Updated: 8 August 2025

The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) has issued a statewide public health and safety advisory in the wake of its June 30 suspension of Assured Testing Laboratories, a Tyngsborough-based cannabis testing lab accused of falsifying contamination data. The lab’s license was summarily suspended effective July 4, 2025, following an investigation into systemic failures to accurately report Total Yeast and Mold test data for thousands of marijuana samples.

Assured Testing was responsible for testing roughly 25% of cannabis products sold statewide between April 2024 and April 2025. Its reported failure rate for yeast and mold was just 0.05%—a figure 90 times lower than the statewide average of 4.5%—prompting a regulatory probe. The CCC uncovered a pattern of manipulation, including more than 500 cases of unreported contamination and thousands of falsified “non-detect” microbial results.

New findings released by the CCC on August 6 reveal the full scope of the issue. Regulators estimate that over 7,500 marijuana products - used for both recreational and medical purposes - may have been sold to consumers despite failing microbial safety standards. The CCC has now published detailed batch information and package tag numbers on its Public Health and Safety Advisories portal, though it has not identified specific brands or retailers. Many of the affected products may have been sold more than a year ago.

While Massachusetts law requires failed cannabis test results to be reported within 72 hours, Assured Testing allegedly reran samples and selectively submitted only favorable results. In response, the CCC’s order suspended not only the lab’s license but also all associated agent registrations. Cannabis samples still held at the lab were ordered to be destroyed or returned to their source dispensaries.

The state has since blocked further sales of any potentially affected products via the Metrc tracking system and has directed retailers and medical dispensaries to follow established recall procedures. Consumers and patients who possess tagged products listed in the advisory are encouraged to destroy them or return them to the original seller for disposal.

Assured Testing Laboratories is the first cannabis lab in Massachusetts to face a license suspension of this kind. The lab has since filed a lawsuit against the CCC, with CEO Dimitrios Pelekoudas asserting that “no contaminated products reached the market” and maintaining the company posed “no threat to the public.”

Although the CCC has not issued a formal product recall, the agency’s unprecedented advisory highlights weaknesses in the cannabis oversight system, particularly the lack of immediate, brand-specific public disclosures. Critics warn that much of the burden now rests on consumers and retailers to identify potentially unsafe products themselves.

The incident has sent ripples throughout the Massachusetts cannabis industry. Retailers, cultivators, and patients are now forced to reexamine their reliance on third-party testing labs. Industry analysts anticipate stricter regulatory standards, increased audit frequency, and possible civil litigation as the state attempts to restore consumer confidence and close regulatory gaps.