Inconsistent, faulty and unregulated testing laboratories put medical marijuana patients at risk of adverse health affects and imprecise treatment, according to a new report from a consumer protection group.Colorado requires medical and recreational marijuana to undergo testing at licensed labs, but marijuana testing rules vary heavily from state to state. And even regulated frameworks don’t always produce accurate results, leading to situations where “a patient doesn’t get what they think they’re buying,” according to Americans Safe for Access (ASA) founder Steph Sherer.”These are some of our most vulnerable citizens, which is why it’s so important that we get this right,” Sherer said during a July 13 webinar about the organization’s latest report on medical marijuana testing efficacy. “Because there aren’t proficiency tests for the labs, we often see [business owners] lab-shopping to get higher potency on their labels.”A lack of federal and state oversight has led to unreliable test results across the pot industry, Sherer added, pointing to reports of faulty THC potency numbers in numerous legal markets. Colorado isn’t void of these issues, either, despite a relatively robust marijuana testing and enforcement program.Earlier this year, the Colorado Marijuana Enforcement Division sent a memo to licensed growers warning of increased punishment if a cultivation was caught adulterated testing samples to hide mold, yeast and other banned contaminants. According to the MED, this warning was sent after investigators had discovered “many examples” to cheat testing . And certified testing lab RM3 Labs closed in Colorado last year after its potency testing licensing was suspended “I’m not sure how widespread it is in cannabis, but I will say a way this can be caught is to have more inspections upstream. If you have people showing up to cultivation sites, showing up to places where they’re processing cannabis, there’s a likelihood that is happening,” Sherer said. “We can’t rely totally on labs for state products.”The ASA report calls on states with legal marijuana to test products for mold, e.coli, salmonella and aspergillus, as well as pesticides, heavy metals, residual solvents, additives and adulterants. Colorado is one of a few states that tests for the majority of these contaminants, as well as a few other categories, but that hasn’t stopped the state from issuing fifteen microbial-related recalls so far in 2023, with the majority of the recalls connected to multiple dispensaries.A handful of states with medical marijuana programs don’t require accreditation for testing labs, ASA’s report notes, and every state that does has different testing standards and requirements. According to ASA, these disparities compromise the safety of medical marijuana patients, who are elderly or immuno- compromised at higher ratse than the general public.”These contaminants can have serious health impacts, and consumers may find it challenging to trace symptoms back to cannabis products, especially when they believe they are using tested and regulated products,” the ASA report reads.Patients’ primary care and other doctors may struggle to diagnose or treat a cannabis-related health issue because of the lack of public information and the traditional medicine world’s reluctance to accept medical marijuana, according to New York physician Stephen Dahmer. A primary care physician who also works in the cannabis industry, Dahmer estimates that “90 percent” of patients assume that legally produced marijuana is accurately labeled and made under FDA-like standards.”From a regulatory perspective, from a stigma perspective, it’s incredibly difficult for everyone to get their arms around this and understand it. They seem like 101 easy things, but many of the patients I’ve interacted with on the frontlines really aren’t familiar with that,” Dahmer said during the ASA call.The organization is asking Congress to create a national Office of Medical Cannabis and Cannabinoid Control, which would help improve medical marijuana testing and safety in states that have legalized the plant. “To do all this requires dollars,” Dahmer noted.As the medical marijuana community awaits federal action, the ASA is calling on state lawmakers to carry the torch in the meantime by passing laws that tighten lab regulations and further empower health and safety inspections. Earlier this year, the Colorado Legislature passed a bill that allows investigators to embargo or destroy contaminated marijuana on a shorter timetable. That measure, signed by Governor Jared Polis in March, should give marijuana regulators the ability to move faster when disciplining bad actors, according to the MED.
