As promised late last year, Massachusetts cannabis regulators plan to begin examining whether THC potency reported on product labels is accurate.
The state’s Cannabis Control Commission announced Friday it will audit products and take action if test results aren’t close to what the label says.
“Verifying that marijuana and marijuana products are accurately labeled is critical to the Commission’s mission of safety, equitably, and effectively providing Massachusetts residents access to this industry,” CCC Executive Director Travis Ahern said in a statement.
What action is Massachusetts taking on cannabis potency inflation?
According to the CCC, the actual THC percentage must be within 75% to 125% of what is printed on the product label.
For example, if a label says 15% THC, test results must fall between 11.25% and 18.75% to be compliant.
If a product tests at 4% THC, it’s out of compliance and could be pulled from stores until the problem is fixed.
The newly appointed commission can also send reports of mislabeled products to the state attorney general for further action.
Said Ahern: “This effort aims to improve patient and consumer awareness statewide and takes into consideration that THC potency is variable for marijuana flower products, it degrades over time when it is stored, and other factors.”
The CCC developed its new standard after studying rules from other states, conducting research and comparing results from the 11 independent testing labs operating in Massachusetts, the agency said.
The agency did not say which labs would be conducting the reference testing, or whether it would be one of the state’s existing 11 commercial testing laboratories.
What broader THC potency testing reforms are underway?
The audit rule is part of a bigger push to improve product testing. The CCC recently updated its testing protocols, created a task force to check lab practices and now requires labs to upload digital certificates of analysis with every test.
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The CCC is also working with Metrc, the state’s seed-to-sale tracking system, to make the certificates available to consumers.
Agreements with some labs allow them to act as reference labs as needed – a move suggested by former CCC Commissioner Kimberly Roy, whose services were not retained by Gov. Maura Healey when she selected new commissioners earlier this week.
In December, the CCC pledged to crack down on THC potency inflation amid accusations from law enforcement that nothing was being done to halt what many say is a long-standing problem.
Cannabis operators have long said that labs inflate THC potency to please their clients — who in turn are responding to market pressures as consumers prefer high potency products.
