Critics say the current method of allowing manufacturers to choose the samples they send to labs is vulnerable to abuse and allows contaminated products to reach dispensaries.
By Christopher Osher, ProPublica & Evan Wyloge, The Denver Gazette.
Colorado marijuana manufacturers would no longer be allowed to choose which product samples they send for mandatory lab testing under a new regulatory proposal discussed at a policy forum on Friday.
Instead, the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division may require independent labs or outside vendors to collect product samples for the testing that’s required before companies can sell their products to ensure they’re free of contaminants.
Kareem Kassem, a director at SC Labs, which has a testing lab in Colorado, said during the forum that all sampling should be done under video surveillance and that vehicles that transport samples should be equipped with GPS monitoring.
The change would address a long-standing complaint from some marijuana manufacturers that bad actors are cheating the system. They say some companies are selecting samples that can pass tests while sending products to dispensaries that might be contaminated with…