Testing

The National Institutes of Standards and Technology is selling reference materials to help testing labs and law enforcement agencies accurately measure key components in cannabis products and better distinguish between hemp and THC-rich cannabis products.

California this week ordered product recalls for five licensed cannabis products including four vape pens and a vape cartridge due to contamination with chlorfenapyr, which is a banned pesticide.

An independent investigation has revealed widespread pesticide contamination in California’s legal cannabis products, raising serious concerns for consumers and industry participants.

As the Minnesota cannabis industry awaits a possible launch in 2025, officials have warned hemp product retailers that inspectors will begin examining their hemp flower products to make sure they do not exceed the 0.3% delta-9 THC potency limits.

Many of California’s cannabis testing labs are currently not allowed to test the potency of flower products due to a rule change designed to combat so-called “lab shopping” in the state.

Starting this year, the Oklahoma Medical Marijuana Authority will be utilizing “secret shoppers” in its effort to regulate the industry. Under the new law, regulators will anonymously purchase products and have them tested by a lab.

In a move that highlights the controversy around potency obsession and lab-shopping, Washington state regulators have issued an emergency suspension of a cannabis testing lab’s license alleging the lab had submitted “incorrect and/or false” test results to its clients and the government.

South Dakota officials are considering changes to the state’s medical cannabis program that would allow 10% more THC in medical cannabis products and require rolling papers used for prerolls to be tested by state-approved laboratories.

At least two recent studies found that a significant number of medical cannabis products available to registered patients in Maine would fail the adult-use industry’s testing protocols for containing either pesticides, yeast and mold, or harmful microbes.

A recent study published in the Journal of Cannabis Research found that the majority of hemp-derived THC products carry mislabeled dosages on their packaging and that most companies do not actually check their products for impurities.

Following a lawsuit filed by multiple cannabis industry trade groups, the Oregon Court of Appeals has — for now — suspended the state’s cannabis testing requirements for the fungus Aspergillus.

New rules in Missouri require cannabis testing labs to double-check the work of other labs in an effort to cut down on so-called “lab shopping,” which involves bringing (or shopping) a cannabis product to multiple testing labs before partnering with whichever lab offers the most favorable test results.

The Cannabis Industry Association of Oregon and several of the state’s organic cannabis cultivators are suing to undo the Oregon Health Authority’s new Aspergillus mold testing requirements for cannabis products.

A Massachusetts cannabis testing lab is accusing regulators of opening a retaliatory investigation into the company after their CEO suggested that “enforcement staff may be misusing investigations as a pretext to silence and harass licensees.”

The Michigan Civil Service Commission voted unanimously this week to allow hiring individuals for most state employee positions even if they fail pre-employment drug tests for cannabis.

About 90% of cannabis plants in the California industry are reportedly infected with hop-latent viroid (HLVd), a pathogen that cripples growth and can reduce THC levels in a plant by as much as half.

The Michigan Civil Service Commission recently proposed a rule change that would drop pre-employment cannabis drug testing for most state government positions.

A recent study by Quest Diagnostics found that post-accident workforce drug tests returned more positive tests for cannabis in 2022 than at any point in the previous 25 years.

The Tennessee Legislature approved a bill to regulate hemp-derived cannabinoids including delta-8 and delta-9 THC, sending the proposal to Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) desk for his signature.

The U.S. military and many federal agencies have started to deprioritize prior cannabis use when considering new hires.

A lawsuit filed in federal court by an Arkansas medical cannabis patient alleges that the state’s cannabis testing labs are inflating THC levels in cannabis products in order to inflate prices.