Minnesota testing lab Legend Technical Services announced last week that it is shutting down its cannabis testing program after state cannabis regulators freeze the license last month, MPR News reports.

Legend was first licensed to test medical cannabis products in 2014, but in 2025, the state temporarily approved the lab to also test adult products to bolster the new market. Officials notified the lab in May that the grace period for its testing methodologies and safety practices had expired.

“We no longer see the Minnesota Cannabis Program fitting into our long-term corporate plans for laboratory and consulting services at LEGEND. Under the current regulatory framework, we do not foresee an ability to continue to meet our customers’ expectations in an economically sustainable manner.” — Written statement from the company, via MPR News

Legend’s cannabis and hemp program manager, Taylor Schertler, said in the report that the company’s decision to close the program came as a surprise, and that he was one of three employees laid off in the process.

Josh Collins, director of communications for Minnesota’s Office of Cannabis Management (OCM), said the agency was “disappointed” to hear the lab was closing its long-standing cannabis department, but said it was important that “all test facility licensees (are) held to the same standards.”

Legend Technical Services also performs testing for environmental purposes and medical devices.

Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear (D) recently rescinded a 2022 executive order that allowed medical cannabis patients to use and possess cannabis products outside the state, WLWT5 reports.

The governor initially issued the order to streamline qualifying patient access to medical cannabis products while the state worked to implement its program. Beshear said this week that with Kentucky’s medical cannabis program now fully operational, protections for patients who possess out-of-state products will end on July 1.

Meanwhile, the governor signed another executive order this month, adding 15 new qualifying medical conditions in the program. That order caused opposite reactions by several top Republicans, who called on officials to prosecute any medical cannabis licensees who comply with the governor’s latest order.

Also, an Office of Inspector General investigation into the state’s medical cannabis licensing process determined Earlier this year, Kentucky’s Office of Medical Cannabis (OMC) licensing methods were “transparent and fair” to all applicants.