The Marijuana Regulatory Agency recalled of pre-rolled marijuana sold at Metro Detroit retailers after claims they were licked by a processing facility employee.  The agency issued a public health and safety bulletin detailing the incident at 3843 Euclid LLC in Bay City, recalling “nearly 3,200 contaminated pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes originating from a Bay City processing center,” according to the release.The investigation into the matter originally began at the company’s medical marijuana plant and adult-use marijuana location on July 31 “based on information that an individual at the business licked a pre-roll marijuana product while making the product," representatives said.After finding sufficient evidence, officials took action, putting all "pre-roll marijuana products in the inventory on an administrative hold during the ongoing investigation,” restricting the sale or transfer of the products.  The items were recalled from multiple distributors located in Bay City, Hazel Park, Detroit, Traverse City, Ann Arbor, Lansing, River Rouge, Ferndale, Quincy, Lowell, Negaunee, and Lapeer.

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The release stated, “The Marijuana Regulatory Agency (MRA) is issuing this health and safety advisory bulletin due to a confirmed complaint regarding pre-rolls contaminated with human saliva…The licensee has agreed to cooperate fully with the investigation.  All contaminated pre-rolls will have a label that indicates the license number of the marijuana business that sold the marijuana product as well as tag number assigned to the product in the statewide monitoring system.”The licked stock is especially concerning amid the pandemic in which COVID-19 can easily be transferred from person to person via saliva.  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically indicates the virus is most commonly spread through “respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs, sneezes or talks.  These droplets can land in the mouths or noses of people who are nearby or possibly be inhaled into the lungs.”  The agency recommends frequent handwashing with soap for at least twenty seconds “especially after you have been in a public place, or after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing.”  If the individual who licked the marijuana was infected by COVID-19, even if the person is not showing any symptoms of having the coronavirus, this would be especially dangerous to anyone else who comes in contact with the product.“Consumers who have these contaminated pre-rolls in their possession should return them to the provisioning center or retailer where they were purchased for proper disposal,” the Marijuana Regulatory Agency said. “Provisioning centers must notify patients and caregivers who purchased these pre-rolls of the recall.”  The bulletin further states that those who may have gotten sick from using the contaminated products should immediately report their symptoms to a physician.  Further testing to rule out COVID-19 may be warranted.The individual responsible for the recall was not identified in the bulletin and corrective action was not specified.

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Notification of Voluntary Marijuana Product RecallState issues recall after worker reportedly licks marijuana productMarijuana recalled after worker accused of licking joint in Michigan processing plantMarijuana recalled after plant worker is accused of licking joint, Michigan agency saysCOVID-19: How to Protect Yourself & Others