Are California’s New Marijuana Lab-Testing Rules too Stringent?

Although it may seem at first glance that there is little to no science behind the testing and determining of strength of various cannabis products, there is a lot that goes into those that the bud-tender tells you. Growers, labs, dispensaries and even individual patients have the option to send their pot-related products to many different testing labs where they can test everything from potency to the presence of pesticides as well as the various terpene levels

However, this process has remained slightly arbitrary throughout time. Still in place today, California has yet to regulate or monitor any of the testing procedures, and although there are some procedures that remain standard, it all depends on the lab.

This is where the state’s Bureau of Medical Cannabis Regulation comes in. They hope to reign upon the industry and propose different models as a set of regulations upon the testing industry. This was announced last month.

According to the statement released, the labs will need to be certified by the International Organization for Standardization. The rules will also apply to technician training, storage techniques and what factors will need to be tested. All of these will also need to be tested twice.

Dr. Robert W. Martin, co-founder and CEO of Oakland’s CW Analytical lab stated that he applauds the state’s efforts, but finds them to be expensive and unnecessary. His opinion is that the state lacks the proper barriers for monitoring quality of the product.

Martin stated “Many levels of detection recommended by the state are at such low levels that many analytical processes will have difficulty providing accurate results…Overall, the regulations, as proposed, will chase many lab operators out of the business as well as growers back to black market pursuits.”

These rules have yet to be fully finalized, and the state is still waiting for public input before they make a hard decision. The opportunity for the public to comment ends June 20th.

Dr. Robert W. Martin is hopeful that organizations across the board will have their opinions reflected on the new rules and the changes that the government wishes to put in place.

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