In the autumn, more specifically in October, the OLCC is going to begin implementing new regulation standards for the testing of marijuana products at licensed testing facilities throughout Oregon. The goal of the regulations is to improve the quality of marijuana products reaching consumers by making sure that there are no contaminated strains on the market or strains that have had unapproved pesticides on it.
The Oregonian reports that “the policy shift transforms Oregon’s marijuana labs from an unregulated cottage industry into a central part of the state’s regulated market.”
However, there are still various inquiries when the queue of licenses that the OLCC has not yet looked over. The state has collected just a few license applications for testing labs, and that has made some concerned about an oligopoly in the industry. Basically, if producers are not able to get their products tested, they won’t be able to sell it on the market.
A representative from the OLCC acknowledged the problem in an interview with the Oregonian,
“The problem with our early growers is if there is no lab capacity,” Steven Marks, executive director of the OLCC, said, “They will be landlocked with their product.”
Under the new laws, labs are forced to see the same strict standards as environmental laboratories that experiment on water as well as soil. At the moment, the state has only collected thirty-four partial applications for accreditation from laboratories and only three full applications. Shannon Swantek, a compliance specialist with the OLCC, states that ten to fifteen labs are likely going to be approved by October first. But the labs are going see additional licensing processes through the OLCC before testing can start.
In general, these new regulations should give consumers a much healthier product. Especially in the concentrate market, pesticides are a huge problem for consumers that are concerned about what they are taking in. Some savvy farmers have taken steps to cultivate clean marijuana already.
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