Three former Michigan State Police officers who founded a controversial marijuana testing labs have been permanently barred from the industry, according to the Cannabis Regulatory Agency (CRA).
The CRA announced that Viridis Laboratories and its sister facility, Viridis North, will close following years of legal battles and disciplinary action. Regulators accused the company of using unapproved methods, inflating THC results, and downplaying safety risks.
As part of the settlement, majority owners Greg Michaud, Todd Welch, and Dr. Michele Glinn are banned for life from holding any role in the state’s marijuana market. Viridis’ Lansing lab must close immediately, while its Bay City facility is required to shut down by September 28.
“This is justice, plain and simple,” CRA Executive Director Brian Hanna said. “Viridis circumvented the rules. Their majority owners will never operate in this space again, and the Michigan cannabis industry will be stronger for it.”
Founded in 2018, Viridis quickly became one of the state’s largest testing labs, handling as much as a quarter-million pounds of cannabis flower each year. But in 2021, regulators ordered the largest recall in state history — an estimated $229 million worth of products — after questioning the company’s results.
In March, an administrative law judge found that Viridis repeatedly violated state rules by misidentifying mold, failing to follow protocols, and keeping inadequate records. Despite the findings, the company continued operating while fighting regulators in court, though its lawsuits were dismissed.
By admitting to all violations in six formal complaints and agreeing to drop its legal challenges, Viridis has brought one of Michigan’s longest-running regulatory fights to an end.
“This wasn’t just a single misstep,” Hanna said. “It was a sustained, deliberate pattern of noncompliance that shook confidence in the entire regulated cannabis system.”
CRA officials said the case sets an important precedent. “Scientific integrity isn’t a formality — it’s the foundation of the cannabis industry,” said Claire Patterson, director of the CRA’s reference lab. “The future of this industry depends on ethics, transparency, and science we can all trust.”
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