When consumers walk into one of the hundreds of legal cannabis dispensaries around Michigan, they have both the expectation that the product they will buy is safe and that they will be able to view THC percentages on labels. This information is important to consumers for different reasons.
Consumers need to be sure that what they're buying is free of pesticides, mold, and heavy metals, and they need to be able to trust the THC percentage because it will determine consumers' experience and dosing for medical patients. Both aspects are verified through cannabis testing labs, which Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency regulates.
A November recall, the state's largest, of many products tested by Viridis Laboratories exposed the shortcomings of the testing industry and how it's regulated, raising concerns over how much consumers can actually trust what's on a product's label. The Viridis recall and its impact, the lab sued the state, and a judge decided to limit the recall, are top of mind for many in the industry who are questioning the reliability of Michigan's testing labs and whether consumers can trust the products they approve, whether it's flower, edibles or concentrates.
It's a question even a scientist at Michigan's Cannabis Regulatory Agency asks, according to documents that the agency released recently. "Consumers should be able to buy with confidence, knowing that the products they are paying a lot of money to contain the correct amount of cannabinoids and are free from contaminants," Allyson Chirio, a laboratory scientist specialist for the agency, said to Claire Patterson, the scientific and legal section manager for the CRA's enforcement division, in an email sent on November 8, 2021, regarding testing practices Chirio observed at Viridis.
To read the complete article, go to eu.freep.com
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