Colorado Consumers Left Exposed To Contaminated Pot As Regulators Drop The Ball

State Audit Finds Widespread Testing Gaps

A new state audit found that the agency regulating Colorado’s legal recreational marijuana market potentially put consumers at risk of using contaminated products. The report pointed to inconsistent oversight by the Marijuana Enforcement Division and loose state rules around testing marijuana products for contaminants.

The audit, released Monday, found that nearly 75% of marijuana processed for eventual sale from 2023 through 2025 evaded testing for pesticides. It also identified regulators’ failure to meet regular inspection schedules or to conduct sufficient random checks at dispensaries for contaminated products.

The audit’s conclusions echo findings of an investigation this year by The Denver Gazette and ProPublica into the division’s lapses in policing contaminants entering the legal marketplace. In one case highlighted by the newsrooms, it took 15 months for a manufacturer to discontinue production of a marijuana sleep aid pill despite consumers warning regulators that the product was harming their livers.

Delayed Warnings Left Products On Shelves

The audit found that unsafe products had remained on the market for as long as three years before the Marijuana Enforcement Division issued a public warning. On average, from 2023 through 2025, contaminated products that were the subject of a health and safety advisory remained on shelves for more than seven months.

The audit also found that in 2025 it took the agency three and a half months on average to issue an advisory once it launched an investigation into potential contamination. Even after investigators determined an advisory was needed, it still took the agency a month on average to issue one.

“As a result, there is an increased risk that marijuana products sold in Colorado may have contaminants or that the potency listed on the labels is inaccurate.”

Auditors said they did not identify evidence of “widespread health and safety issues” but found that deficient regulations still left consumers vulnerable. However, a survey of MED investigators found that more than half said there are or may be widespread marijuana product safety issues in Colorado’s regulated market.

Exemptions Reduce Testing Requirements

Colorado allows marijuana businesses to test far less frequently than required by state guidelines if they can show consistent compliance with testing rules.

Manufacturers can also rely on other testing exemptions, such as for certain marijuana-derived skin and body products. The audit found there is “limited MED oversight” of how manufacturers determine they qualify for an exemption.

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