Delta Extraction seeks temporary restraining order against DCR
Wednesday afternoon brought the latest development in an escalating battle between Missouri cannabis regulators and Delta Extraction, the license holder of MAN000022.
On August 2, Delta products, as well as products from dozens of other brands around the state, were placed on administrative hold in Metrc. Simultaneously, three Missouri licensees including Delta Extraction were issued an Order of Immediate Suspension.
On August 3, Delta filed an action with the Administrative Hearing Commission (AHC) appealing the suspension order issued by DCR, the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation.
Court filings obtained by Greenway show that on August 7, representatives for Delta met with Department of Health and Senior Services DHSS/DCR Deputy Director Brittany Kirkweg and others employees to review and discuss the suspension and administrative hold, per DCR rules.
On August 9, Delta filed an Emergency Motion for Stay with the AHC. Delta asked that the Commission “immediately stay [DHSS’s] decision suspending [Delta’s] license . . . [and] immediately retract [its] issuance of an administrative hold on [Delta’s] products.”
On Monday, August 14, Delta’s Emergency Motion was heard by the AHC. The hearing concluded at 4:08 pm. At 4:54 PM, DCR issued a recall notice for more than 62,000 product SKUs, some of which were manufactured more than a year prior.
“The Division’s unlawful and overzealous actions have led it to a courtroom,” said Rich Chrismer, a spokesperson for Delta Extraction. “Delta Extraction has repeatedly asked the Division for justification for its actions regarding health and safety and what the business needs to do to lift these restrictions, and they have repeatedly refused to do so. The Division also has refused to provide test results they conducted on Delta Extraction’s products despite repeated requests.
“These bureaucrats had no authority to take these actions, and their campaign to destroy the business is unlawful, unjustified and unexplained. Moreover, their unlawful actions are hurting Missouri patients by undermining their ability to access the critical therapies that they need.
“Delta Extraction is an industry leader in providing and promoting safe, quality, and compliant cannabis products, and has passed all state inspections, from their inception, with flying colors, and never received a notice of violation. Its operations meet or exceed industry standards, and the safety of its customers has always been its number-one priority,” Chrismer stated.
On Wednesday, August 16, Delta filed two separate cases in Cole County Circuit Court, 19th Judicial Circuit: a Petition for Judicial Review and Request for Declaratory Judgement, and a Motion for Temporary Restraining Order against both DHSS and DCR.
Delta’s TRO asks the court to intervene.
“Delta is substantially likely to prevail on the merits and the balancing of equities supports issuance of a temporary restraining order. Delta prays for the Court’s Order enjoining DHSS’s unlawful actions, directing DHSS to rescind the Hold Notice and Recall Notice, and granting such other relief as the Court deems just and proper,” the filing reads.
In the motion, Delta outlines multiple instances whereby the company feels that DHSS and DCR have acted beyond their scope and without regard for the regulations promulgated by their own Department.
“DHSS has never identified a basis for concluding that any of Delta’s products pose an imminent threat to public health. And DHSS certainly has not explained how all of Delta’s products present such a threat. That is because no such threat exists,” the filing reads.
It continues, “DHSS did not limit its Recall Notice to “particular” products that it determined constitute a potential threat. That is because DHSS has no idea what the potential threat is, or how the products might be tested to determine whether there actually is a threat. Instead, as with its administrative hold, DHSS simply issued a recall covering all of Delta’s products, regardless of whether there is any reason to believe those products constitute a threat to anyone. That is improper and not authorized by DHSS’s regulations.”
Read the filings in full below.
