Massachusetts’ Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) is reportedly working to expand a “secret shopper” program as it tries to regulate issues with marijuana packaging and labeling compliance.
Acting CCC Chair Ava Callender Concepcion commented on the secret shopper initiative during a Saturday panel at the New England Cannabis Convention in Boston, according to marijuana industry publication Green Market Report.
Concepcion subsequently told Green Market Report that the program is “ramping up.”
“It’s making sure that that labeling is accurate, that potency levels are being described accurately, to make sure that what is being displayed for consumers and the information being relied on is accurate,” she told the publication.
Concepcion said more information about the secret shopper program will be shared during a future CCC public meeting.
The next such meeting is scheduled for April 11.
Section 500.303 of Massachusetts’ adult-use cannabis regulations permits authorities “to pose as a customer” and buy marijuana in order to perform “investigative testing for compliance with laboratory testing standards and identification check requirements.”
The CCC chair’s comments come amid continuing concern around so-called THC inflation and fraudulent marijuana test results by unscrupulous operators.
As MJBizDaily has previously reported, marijuana testing laboratories have confirmed THC inflation in multiple state as well as evidence suggesting the manipulation of contaminant testing results.
The issue of laboratory fraud poses serious risks to the credibility of the legal marijuana industry.
Concerns around THC inflation have also been documented in Canada’s regulated cannabis market.
