First medical cannabis testing labs approved in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has approved two medical marijuana testing labs, marking another milestone for the state on its way toward rolling out a new MMJ program.

Michigan-based ACT Laboratories and Pennsylvania-based Keystone State Testing received two-year licenses from the state health department, Pennlive.com reported.

Both labs are in the final stages of building out their operations and are hoping to be up and running by late October or early November. That timetable would put them in position to start testing as soon as the state’s MMJ cultivators are ready to submit samples.

Pennsylvania’s medical cannabis sales are slated to launch sometime in early 2018, but the 12 companies licensed to grow “are still working toward being deemed operational” by the health department, according to Pennlive.com. No cultivators have been approved to begin growing cannabis.

Pennsylvania’s MMJ law requires that all crops be tested for contaminants, potency and CBD-to-THC ratios. Labs will also be responsible for correctly identifying CBD and THC ratios on MMJ product labels.

ACT Laboratories has an MMJ testing operation in Illinois and hopes to open a lab in Michigan.