Guest Opinion: Consumers and workers are being harmed by the failure of the CCC to use shelf testing and analysis of aggregated compliance test results to monitor the market.
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission’s management of cannabis testing has been criticized by many observers in the past few years. I am among them, but you don’t have to take my word for it:
- At the Cannabis Science Fair in December 2022, we revealed the prevalence of THC inflation, along with our discovery of harmful levels of bacteria and fungi in packages of cannabis flower sold in Massachusetts.
- An April 2023 Boston Globe editorial highlighted the lack of transparency and accountability for staff investigating testing labs for the CCC.
- In June 2023, Chris Hudalla of Proverde Labs and I spoke to podcast host Mike Crawford of the Young Jurks about numerous problems with the CCC’s management of testing, as documented by Talking Joints Memo.
- Chris Roberts wrote on MJBizDaily in July 2023 about potential conflicts of interest that entangle the director of testing at the CCC.
- This past April, Zack Huffman wrote on Talking Joints Memo about the ongoing problems with testing for microbial contaminants, which endanger the health of all consumers of cannabis.
- And just this month, the Mass inspector general publicly criticized the transparency and speed of the CCC’s investigation into the death of Lorna McMurrey after she fell ill at work for Trulieve.
Of the measures to better manage cannabis testing that have been suggested, a “standard lab” to be run by the CCC is the most expensive and would take the longest to implement. Estimates vary, but reasonable guesses are that up to $5 million and two years will be required to get a CCC lab started.
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https://talkingjointsmemo.com/mass-has-a-cannabis-testing-problem-that-a-state-lab-wont-fix/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
