Only 13 California Cannabis Labs Out Of 38 Qualify As State Cracks Down On Scams

The new year brought important changes to California’s cannabis market like protections for employees and applicants for off-the-clock cannabis use and new rules for marijuana flower testing, resulting in only 13 licensed labs out of 38 having met the requirements.

What happened: As of January 1st, all state-licensed laboratories need to use the Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) for testing dried flower and non-infused pre-rolls. According to DCC’s website, only 13 labs can now test marijuana flower, the most popular category of legal weed, reported SFGate.

The rest of the certified labs can still test other products such as edibles and vape pens, but are currently blocked from testing flower.

The 13 labs that met the requirements include 2 Rivers Labs, Bel Costa Labs Long Beach LLC, California Cannabis Testing Labs, CaliGreen Laboratory, Certified Ag Labs, Encore Labs LLC, Harrens Lab Inc., HK Holding LLC, ILS Lab Inc., Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, Pure Cannalyst Lab Inc., Purity Medical Laboratories, SC Laboratories California LLC.

Why it matters: The changes are part of an effort to stem widespread labeling scams. Over the last several years, California’s labs have been accused of intentionally pumping up the amount of THC they found in marijuana in order to boost its value, writes the outlet. Higher potency products are often more expensive and sought after.

Executives at Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs and Anresco published a study in 2022 revealing that 87% of the 150 products tested had lower potencies than stated on the label. Some brands faced lawsuits because of mislabeling.

Will this cause distribution delays?

David Hafner, the DCC spokesperson does not think this will slow product rollout.

“We don’t anticipate delays, but they could happen,” Hafner told the outlet. “Regardless, our focus is enforcing the rules and we encourage the industry to work with the labs utilizing the approved method.”

What’s next: It is up to the testing labs to become compliant with new requirements. Per Hafner, labs that continue to test marijuana flower without being certified under new standards “will be considered non-compliant and may be subject to disciplinary actions.”

Now Read: Seniors In Affluent California Town Want Local Cannabis Shop Rather Than Online, Mayor Refuses

Photo: Benzinga edit with images by Hans Reniers on Unsplash and OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay