By Benjie Cooper
IG: @nuglifenews
YouTube: Lucid’s Vlog
In the first month of enforced marijuana regulations in California, twenty percent of the 5,268 batches of cannabis products submitted for mandatory lab test results have failed to meet state standards for retail sale.
According to data from the California Cannabis Bureau of Cannabis Control, inaccurate labeling, and contamination from bacteria, pesticides, or solvents from the extraction process are to blame for the failed tests. In some cases, pesticide levels were above the allowed limit, and others tested positive for ones that are banned.
There are currently more than sixty banned or regulated pesticides for which regulated cannabis products must meet state standards.
In addition to compliance issues on the manufacturing side of the cannabis pipeline, there is currently a lack of operational testing labs in California, and both have contributed to a temporary shortage of products on store shelves. But growing pains are to be expected in a new industry, especially when it’s cannabis.
At the moment, there are thirty-one licensed testing labs in the state, but most of them are in Northern California, and only a small portion of those are accepting submissions as of yet. The ones that are operating are facing such an influx of submissions that turnaround time for test results is one to two weeks.
The first cannabis product was recalled this week for failing state pesticide standards. On Wednesday, The Bloom Brand announced a recall of four of its vaporizer cartridges after test results showed that they exceeded acceptable levels of the fungicide Myclobutanil.
On top of the current testing requirements, in 2019 additional standards regarding heavy metals, mycotoxins, mold, and terpenoid levels will also be implemented.
