Alaska to probe erratic cannabis potency results at state’s labs

A committee will look at issues surrounding the testing of marijuana products amid inconsistency in potency results from Alaska’s two labs, the state’s top marijuana regulator said.

However, Erika McConnell, director of the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office, told Anchorage TV station KTVA she couldn’t estimate know how long that process might take.

During a recent Marijuana Control Board meeting, McConnell recommended a review of testing regulations and cited, among other reasons, evidence of “significant deviation” in potency-testing results of the same product by CannTest and Steep Hill Alaska.

Steep Hill said THC results from customers who had samples tested at both labs were higher in all 16 samples tested by CannTest — in some cases, significantly so.

Steep Hill also retested products it bought from retail stores and said it found variations.

The inconsistencies are greater than one would expect between two different labs, according to Steep Hill.

In a statement posted online, CannTest cited a number of potential factors that might contribute to the reported discrepancies but said that “without direct cooperation between labs any differences are difficult to determine.”

Steep Hill has suggested, among other things, that equipment at the state crime lab be used as a third-party check of test results coming from Alaska’s licensed marijuana testing labs.

– Associated Press