California has a new tool in its effort to regulate the state’s unruly pot industry: an $11 million cannabis testing lab, run out of the University of California, San Diego. The lab’s first task? Shutting down labeling fraud in California’s multibillion-dollar pot marketplace. Pot labels have become deeply controversial in California.
The state’s Department of Cannabis Control (DCC) requires every marijuana product to be tested by a private lab for safety and potency, and then labeled with the percentages of several components, including THC, the primary intoxicant in cannabis. Although such testing facilities are licensed by the DCC, industry insiders have for years accused labs of fraudulently inflating THC levels to lure more customers. In the past month, rumors turned into court action, when lawsuits hit some of the state’s largest pot companies over claims they’ve been lying about how much THC their products contain...
The new lab at UCSD is a key part of the state’s plan to rein in testing fraud. In February 2021, the state signed a deal promising the university $11 million over five years to build and operate a “reference laboratory” for legal cannabis inside UCSD’s Center for Medicinal Cannabis Research, including $2.3 million in laboratory equipment the first year and just under $1 million each year for staff. The lab, run by university professors Igor Grant and Jeremiah Momper, has struggled with delays; despite receiving initial funds in February 2021, it has yet to meet a single deadline for testing capabilities. That includes a July 2022 deadline to complete International Organization for Standardization (ISO) certification proving the lab’s staff and equipment are capable of running contamination and potency testing...
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