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Another Day, Another Recall for Tainted Pot

Ryan Allway

December 9th, 2015

Policy, Top Story

CFN-12092015-1Denver health officials issued their ninth recall of tainted marijuana last week, highlighting the growing need for effective and reliable cannabis testing services.

The latest voluntary recall affects more than 12,600 packages of marijuana-infused edibles made by Gaia’s Garden. According to the company, the recall came from pesticide-containing marijuana plants purchased from the TruCannabis cultivation facility. The recall marks the second time that the company has sold tainted products to consumers, with the first recall being for 8,000 edibles that took place in early November.

“The cannabis industry as a whole and the Colorado cannabis industry in particular should be leading the way in efforts to adopt and institute uniform standardized quality assurance testing for all cannabis products, both medical and recreational, including mandatory pesticide residue screening,” said Todd Denkin, CEO of DigiPath Inc. (OTCQB: DIGP), which operates a cannabis testing laboratory in Nevada under its DigiPath Labs subsidiary.

Lacking Response

The City of Denver recently imposed new rules that require marijuana companies that recall products to use websites and social media accounts to alert customers, but stopped short of making changes to its testing requirements. With just three companies involved in recalls notifying their customers directly, the government is understandably concerned that consumers aren’t aware of the problem, but a long-term solution remains elusive.

Compounding the problem, many of the recalled products were months old and long left the shelves of dispensaries, which means that consumers have probably already consumed the products. One company told the Denver Post that it saw less than 5% of its 20,000 packages of recalled cannabis edibles returned – all from store shelves rather than consumers. This means that many customers have probably been exposed to the harmful chemicals.

Oregon is experiencing the same growing pains for its burgeoning marijuana industry after a joint investigation between OregonLive and the Oregonian found contaminated products on shelves. In one of these cases, the investigative journalists found that Mad Farmaceuticals OG propane hash oil contained ingredients found in Raid and other household ant and roach killers, while testing positive for three pesticides not covered by the state.

In order to combat the problem, officials have proposed new testing requirements that would require labs to identify 60 different pesticides – a significant jump from the current requirements. The problem is that these new regulations come just a month before the deadline for state accreditation and smaller labs are struggling to adjust, saying that the new equipment requires $250,000 worth of equipment in order to meet the new requirements.

Uniform Standards

These dynamics could push the industry towards consolidation as larger companies are better positioned to finance the increasingly large capital investment needed for effective cannabis testing laboratories. After all, smaller laboratories that are privately financed may find it difficult to double their capital expenditures to meet requirements that may not even be the final requirements needed to offer revenue-generating services.

“As in every industry where costs matter, not all cannabis producers in Colorado [and Oregon] will endorse the timely adoption of additional mandatory quality assurance testing,” said Dr. Cindy Orser, Ph.D., Chief Science Officer of DigiPath Labs. “However, that is exactly what is needed and the sooner the better when it comes to pesticide residue analysis. Colorado should look to Nevada for adoption of similar quality assurance testing including pesticide residue analysis as well as heavy metal screening for both medical and recreational marijuana.”

Dr. Orser has been working with the Conference of Western Attorneys General and local lawmakers in Nevada to develop uniform cannabis testing standards designed to avoid the problems experienced in Colorado and Oregon. Since Nevada’s program came after Colorado, Oregon, and other states, the state has had a unique opportunity to craft regulations designed to keep consumers safe from pesticides and other dangerous chemicals.

In addition to developing testing standards, cannabis laboratories must also rise to meet the challenge of producing reliable testing results that conform to these standards. A study titled, “Cannabinoid Dose and Label Accuracy in Edible Medical Cannabis Products”, found that only 17% of the edibles tested were accurately labeled, with 23% underlabeled and 60% overlabeled with respect to THC content. CBDs were also routinely mislabeled by dispensaries.

Looking Ahead

The cannabis industry remains in its early stage with only a handful of states having legalized recreational marijuana, but with the upcoming November 2016 election season, the industry could see dramatic expansion over the coming few years. With the increasing number of product recalls and exposes, the industry is in dire need of cohesive cannabis testing standards in order to ensure that users aren’t being harmed by what they’re consuming.

Image courtesy of Martin Alonzo and used under Creative Commons.

This article was published by CFN Enterprises Inc. (OTCQB: CNFN), owner and operator of CFN Media, the industry’s leading agency and digital financial media network dedicated to the burgeoning CBD and legal cannabis industries. Call +1 (833) 420-CNFN for more information.

About Ryan Allway

Mr. Allway has over a decade of experience in the financial markets as both a private investor and financial journalist. He has been actively involved in the cannabis industry since its inception, covering public and private companies.

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