New York marijuana testing lab at center of recall quietly exited industry

OG Article By Chris Roberts, Reporter Watch Today's LIVE Episode on X, and Rumble

July 29, 2025

The New York marijuana testing lab at the center of the state’s biggest product recall exited the industry amid an ongoing state audit that had temporarily shut it down, according to records obtained by MJBizDaily.

It’s not clear whether that means the lab, Lexachrom Analytical Laboratory, based in Freeport on Long Island, will avoid further punishment for clearing cannabis for sale that was later found to be contaminated with pesticides, according to the state Office of Cannabis Management.

The Lexachrom episode is a first for the New York market, where annual cannabis sales are on pace to eclipse $2 billion in 2025.

However, it’s only the latest example of a nationwide trend that’s seeing licensed cannabis testing laboratories produce data later found to be flawed.

And, critics say, it’s the latest demonstration that longstanding allegations of THC potency inflation and other misbehavior, including manipulating data to please clients, are correct.

State business records indicate Lexachrom was formed by Alexander Woodmass in 2019.

Attempts to contact Woodmass, described as the company’s CEO and lead technical director, via two publicly listed telephone numbers were unsuccessful.

Marijuana testing lab closed amid investigation

It was Lexachrom that tested the cannabis products recalled on June 11, June 25 and July 15 that OCM deemed unsafe for consumption after later testing by another unnamed lab found them “to contain unallowable levels of pesticides,” according to OCM recall notices in June and July.

In a June 1 email to lab customers obtained by MJBizDaily, Woodmass announced the dissolution of Lexachrom and a second “family-owned” business, Cannaport Sampling, due in part to “4 weeks” of lost revenue “with the same expenses.”

That followed OCM officials issuing Lexachrom a stop-work order dated May 14 that cited six findings related to data and document retention, lab procedures and safety of the facility, according to a copy of the document obtained by MJBizDaily.

OCM also alleged that Lexachrom may have been massaging results to please clients.

“Licensee focused on production rather than quality and is influenced by monetary circumstances,” OCM wrote.

In his farewell email, Woodmass thanked customers for their business over the past five years, saying, “I am immensely proud of both our science and the wonderful staff that have worked for us.”

As of Monday, the business appeared closed, with its website shut down and telephone number disconnected.

‘More questions than answers’

In an interview Monday, OCM Deputy Director Stephen Geskey said the “ongoing” matter started when Lexachrom failed to share with OCM certificates of authenticity (COAs) that it produced for clients within a five-day period.

Subsequent inspections on May 5 and May 7-9 “basically raised more questions than we received answers,” he added.

That led to the May 15 stop-work order and another site visit.

“The day after we left, Lexachrom shut its doors,” he said. “That’s basically where things stand.”

New York is one of several states where cannabis lab results are supposed to be verified by a “reference laboratory.”

In New York’s case, the state OCM has a memorandum of understanding with a state Department of Public Health lab.

However, it was “another permitted laboratory” that did the retesting that discovered the pesticides above allowable levels, OCM said.

“The subject laboratory withdrew its permit in late May, following one of OCM’s on-site inspections,” OCM said in an earlier statement.

“OCM has identified the affected products in its recall notices and cannot comment further as the investigation into the matter is ongoing.”

New York marijuana lab fraud allegations

Regulators in Arizona, California and Massachusetts have recently suspended or revoked commercial cannabis testing laboratories’ permits after investigations found evidence of data manipulation and other alleged misbehavior.

However, New York cannabis regulators have yet to revoke a cannabis lab’s permit for producing bad results.

That’s despite accusations of potency inflation and potential fraud outlined in a December 2024 letter to state regulators from several New York labs.

Critics say that labs routinely inflate THC potency and massage data to allow cannabis product that should fail for pesticides or contaminants such as yeast and mold as part of efforts to please customers and win business.

In Lexachrom’s case, the lab cleared cannabis for sale produced by IndoGro LLC and East End Flower Farms, according to OCM.

Long Island-based East End Flower Farms did not respond to an email seeking comment sent Friday.

In a statement, Brooklyn-based IndoGro, which also does business under the brand name IndiCannabis, according to state business records, said that the cannabis flower was “sourced from a third-party grower” and had passed initial testing.

“However, subsequent testing from a different lab detected chemicals that do not meet OCM’s standards. As soon as those new results became available we moved immediately to initiate a recall.”

“We have been working closely with OCM to expedite that process. The health and safety of our clients is our top priority in all instances.”

In the case of IndoGro, a Lexachrom-connected recall on June 11 preceded a second recall, issued on June 25, for product lots that allegedly “used material sourced from an entity that is not licensed by the OCM,” officials said.

Lab was aware of marijuana testing fraud allegations

Lexachrom obtained a permit from OCM in November 2020, ahead of the launch of adult-use marijuana sales in 2022.

Before that, the lab tested product from the state’s medical marijuana “registered organizations.”

In a 2022 interview with New York Cannabis Insider, Woodmass acknowledged the nationwide controversy over lab results and said his lab would be different.

“We don’t always give the easy answers, and we don’t test into compliance,” Woodmass is quoted as saying.

“What we test is what we test, and we stand by our results.”