More California Cannabis Testing Regulations on the Horizon

California cannabis company compliance attorneys are warning current and potential clients that the newest round of regulations that is going to dramatically impact company coffers, causing laboratory testing fees to skyrocket by as much as 55 percent. This latest roll-out, Phase 3 of state regulations, effective Dec. 31st, is specifically going to impact those who are making concentrates and infused products, as well as those who work in cultivation. 

Among the regulations that will go into effect at that time:

• All harvested marijuana and cannabis products are mandated to be tested for mold-generated toxins, mycotoxins and heavy metals.
• Labels of products that claim terpene (a natural, essential oil that enhances the high and contains numerous medicinal properties) will be subject to terpenoid tests.
• Cannabis products that are inhalable, solid, or semi-solid edibles will need to undergo water activity tests in order to ascertain the amount of water they contain.

These tests, state regulators say, are intended to impose more stringent standards on marijuana products to make them safer for public consumption.

Cannabis company compliance attorneys in Los Angeles are extending legal services to any Southern California marijuana business whose owners want to be certain their product meets the rigorous new standards and that they haven’t missed any potential loopholes. The Cannabis Law Firm can also help your team gear up for upcoming testing requirements we know are on the horizon in 2019.

Increase in Testing Rigor Raises Concern Among Cannabis Farmers

Even though the heightened requirements aren’t news to anyone in the industry, many have grown increasingly concerned about implementing these requirements, particularly given testing bottlenecks that arose earlier this month after state cannabis regulators discovered a lab in Sacramento that had (with the doctor’s knowledge and concealment) been failing to vet pot products for potentially dangerous pesticides. The director was fired, but the facility has yet to reopen.

Some concerns at this point are:

• Inadequate number of marijuana testing labs available to test the products in a timely fashion. This is especially true given the state’s stringent restrictions in the labs permitted to conduct the testing as well as the aforementioned closure of Sequoia Analytical labs.
• Costs of testing compliance is likely to significantly increase the cost for cannabis products. In some cases, the cost will be up by 55 percent.
• The testing of cannabis products for “heavy metals” is an x-factor, and some growers are worried a fair number of samples won’t make the grade. In some early samples, product that is currently being produced by some firms is failing the heavy metal testing with levels that are up to 20 times higher than what the government will allow. Particular concern is being raised by those in the business of selling THC oil cartridges because the metal in those cartridges has the potential to leak onto the product.

Los Angeles marijuana business attorneys know companies will have a little time in which to get on board with the program. Any pot product produced and packaged prior to December 31st will be green-lighted for sale, so long as it meets the requirements as laid forth in Phase 2 or Phase 3 testing.

Contracts with labs, contacts with government regulators and more can often be handled by an experienced cannabis business attorney.

The Los Angeles CANNABIS LAW Group represents growers, dispensaries, collectives, patients and those facing marijuana charges. Call us at 949-375-4734.

Additional Resources:

Pot in California: What’s Going on With Cannabis Testing? Dec. 17, 2018, By Amelia McDonnel-Parry, Rolling Stone

More Blog Entries:

More California Marijuana Products Passing Stringent Safety Tests, May 17, 2018, California Cannabis Compliance Attorney Blog