By There is tremendous pressure on growers, manufacturers and laboratories to inflate THC levels. Higher THC levels also create unrealistic expectations for higher numbers, undermining trust in the industry’s integrity.
A California legislator has a solution: March 15, Congressman Reggie Jones Sawyer (D-Los Angeles) introduced Congressional Bill 1610, which he calls “clearing the weeds” bill, will help make cannabis testing more transparent and eliminate fraud in the legal market.
“As consumers, we want to know that what we buy is safe, legal, and tested. This is why I introduced AB 1610.” As we continue to grow, my bill will help protect consumers and maintain quality cannabis products.”
SC lab Sponsoring AB 1610 is to allow or require in-person lab audits, randomized product shelf testing to ensure cannabis labels are accurate, and blind proficiency testing of labs. to improve market transparency.
“SC Labs supports this bill because we can’t hold bad actors accountable without greater involvement from the state,” said SC Labs chief compliance officer. Josh Wurzer says. “In the current system, rogue labs and brands profit more than companies working hard to follow the rules.”
Wurzer continues: Greater trust and transparency in legalized products will increase consumer confidence, ensure public safety, and strengthen legal markets. “
Wurzer said the reforms proposed in the bill are common-sense measures that strengthen existing laws and give regulators the tools they need to stamp out fraud. It includes:
- Requiring blind proficiency testing so that labs can test accuracy in the normal course of business
- Require all past recalls to be published online for easy consumer access
- Request an annual lab audit in person (Many of the labs operating in California operate under interim licenses and have not yet been inspected in person. which other states routinely do to ensure
- Enable randomized testing of retailable products to identify test discrepancies
Wholesale prices of distillates are determined by THC content, and consumers prefer flowers for the same reason. Companies are doing “lab shops” to get his THC levels as high as possible. What’s really happening is that prices are skyrocketing as the consumer thinks he’s getting more THC than the product actually contains.
how prevalent is it? Some labs, tired of rampant potency inflation, recently set out to determine how bad the problem was. Then, 87% of products Some even illegally exaggerated their THC content and contained harmful levels of pesticides. Additionally, more than half of the samples deviated from his labeled THC value by more than 20%, which is more than double the legal allowable variance.
In California, there is some margin for error. The state threshold is +/- 10% for THC, but companies often illegally exceed that margin of error. “Cannabinoids, total THC, and/or total CBD claimed to be present on the label are not considered inaccurate if the percentage difference on the certificate of analysis is plus or minus 10.0%.”California Cannabis Control station (DCC) ) situation.
At least five class action lawsuits have been filed in recent months by consumers claiming damages for paying artificially high THC levels. Several major and well-known cannabis brands were called out.
If people are essentially getting less THC than what’s listed on the label, trust in the system will collapse.
“When Californians voted to approve the use of cannabis, we did so with faith in the marketplace. We are betraying that trust with artificially inflated prices,” said Congressman Jones Sawyer. “This bill will provide the ability to conduct testing and product reviews, improve accountability and give regulators the tools to restore consumer confidence.”
Products have been recalled in California and other legal states for all dangerous levels of mold, yeast, E. coli, and salmonella.
SC Labs has cannabis facilities in California, Oregon, Colorado, and Michigan, and is also registered as a cannabis lab in other states that require cannabis, including Idaho, Illinois, New Mexico, New York, and Texas.
