California legal pot often fails safety tests

LOS ANGELES – Nearly 20% of marijuana products in California have failed power and purity testing since July 1st. But some industry players claim that the failure rate is more related to unrealistic standards and technical problems than to consumer safety.

The tests were particularly difficult on biscuits, sweets and cannabis-based dyes: about a third were stuck in store shelves.

According to data provided to the Associated Press by the state's Office of Cannabis Control, state-approved testing companies find unacceptable levels of pesticides, solvents, and bacteria, including E. coli and salmonella.

In the first two months, nearly 11,000 samples were tested and nearly 2,000 failed. In some cases, the product must be destroyed. But many involve labeling problems that can be corrected. For example, a marijuana bud tested to show a different potency than indicated on the label can be re-labeled and sold with the correct specifications.

For the state, the rigorous testing program does largely for what it was designed: identify marijuana buds, concentrates, snack foods and other products that are somehow contaminated and unsuitable for eating or smoking.

"The statewide mandatory tests are new, and it will take time for everything to go well, but overall we are satisfied with the progress," said the spokesman for the Office of the cannabis control, Alex Traverso.

But as regulators look to overhaul the rules governing the country's largest legal pot economy, they are faced with the need to revisit test requirements that are alternately described as going too far, not far enough or a too expensive burden.

The California Growers Association, an industry group, is among those who fear that the state is forcing producers and manufacturers to reach a target too low when they evaluate the levels of THC, the psychoactive chemical at the same time. Origin of marijuana.

The rules require that the concentration of THC be less than 10% of what is advertised on a product label. The company's executives say some products are rejected after being taken out of the margin in small amounts.

The California Cannabis Manufacturers Association, another industry group, insists that changes allow companies to challenge the results of lab tests.

"Even if the lab admits that it made a mistake, there is no way to change those results," said Bryce Berryessa, TreeHouse County Board Member in Santa Cruz County and President of La Vida Verde. . .

"The labs are not perfect, mistakes are made," he said.

At a hearing last month, Santa Ana-based testing company Cannalysis urged regulators to expand their rules to include a test used in the food and pharmaceutical industries in state guidelines. .

The company said it saw examples of mold on cannabis, but the sample was tested for condition.

Swetha Kaul, Scientific Director of Cannalysis, who serves on the board of directors of the California Cannabis Industry Association, said the state should "create a bigger network to catch things."

By limiting the necessary examination to a few species of mold, the state "essentially creates a loophole where all other species can survive," she said.

California started large legal sales on January 1 and gave companies six months to sell their stocks of marijuana, oils and edible products produced without strict testing requirements.

The rules require that all cannabis-based products clear a range of laboratory tests before reaching consumers, ensuring that THC is evenly distributed in chocolate bars and does not contaminate buds.

From July 1 to August 29, the laboratories tested 10,695 lots of products and 1,904 were rejected, a failure rate of about 18%.

Claims on the label, such as TCH content, accounted for 65% of failures, or 1,279 tests.

Here is how the rule works: If a bottled juice drink indicated on the label 25% apple juice, the testers should find that the concentration in the juice was less than 10% of that mark. It's the same with cannabis.

Next: Approximately 400 batches have been marked for unacceptable pesticide levels. Impurities such as bacteria and molds caused 114 releases.

Ninety percent of the tested buds were sent to the stores, suggesting an essentially clean market for legal producers. The rejection rate was twice that of the concentrates: 20% of the oils and "waxes" tested did not make the cut.

In a statement, the California Department of Public Health said it had received no reports of illness resulting from the consumption of a cannabis-based product attributed to molds or bacteria.

The test debate is not just about laboratory procedures or allowable levels of pesticides. All of this comes at a cost, which companies say puts a strain on their budgets.

"The tests are currently expensive, slow and inconsistent," the producers' association said in a recent letter.

Testing for a small outdoor marijuana farm can typically range from $ 5,000 to $ 10,000 in California. Producers have made similar complaints in Colorado, a pot-friendly, where farmers face new mandatory pesticide testing.

While California now has the largest legal pot market in the country, a huge black market still exists. Los Angeles Police Chief Michel Moore highlighted the risk of buying on the illegal market last week, warning consumers that the price of money saved "could be their life".

He stated that unlicensed stores are known to tie their pot with fentanyl and other narcotics. In an illegal store, Moore said, "we do not know what they actually buy."