In Oregon, marijuana is put through more testing than some food products, and the test results are revealing that the marijuana samples tested often contain less contaminants than found in food.
Oregon’s marijuana testing labs were recently licensed, according to KGW Portland, and have the strictest marijuana standards in the U.S. When a marijuana crop is harvested, several dozens of samples are provided to the lab. Even the oils and concentrates produced are tested for mold, potency and pesticide inclusion.
Marijuana edibles are also tested for quality, potency and dosage. Oregon has a 15mg THC limit for all edibles. Samples failing 2 or more tests cannot be sold.
Molly Lyons of GreenHaus Analytics said, “If you can’t sell your product, that’s a big motivator to find a new product that is safe and possibly organic so you can pass your test and have your product on your shelf. I could only wish our food was tested to the highest standards as cannabis. There’s a lot of people who have never consumed cannabis and now that it’s legal, they want to try it for different reasons, and they need to know what they’re consuming.”
She estimates that 25 – 30 percent of samples tested fail pesticide tests. She also discussed that the wet climate in Oregon makes marijuana more susceptible to mold. More growers in Oregon are moving to outdoor, organic operations to prevent mold.
Lyons closed her comments with, “When we first started testing for the full panel of pesticides, customers were upset about those fails. I think it helped push them in the right direction before stricter laws came to be.”