The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission notified 2,790
OLCC recreational cannabis licensees that detections of Aspergillus mold in cannabis items would no longer prevent the sale or transfer of such products. Approximately 2,500 pounds of cannabis and 65,000 units of infused pre-rolls that were previously tested to contain Aspergillus mold may now be sold or transferred to other licensees or to consumers at OLCC-licensed retailers. The items must comply with all other applicable requirements.
Before cannabis items can be offered for sale to consumers, the OLCC requires the items to be tested according to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) rules for potentially harmful substances like pesticides and heavy metals. In May 2022, OHA adopted new testing rules
for certain pathogenic species of Aspergillus (a type of mold). Items that fail to test are subject to a hold in the state’s Cannabis Tracking System (CTS), also known as Metrc, which prevents transfer or sale of the held product.
In late August, a court upheld the OHA Aspergillus rules. Due to the stay, via a temporary rule adopted on September 15, 2023, OHA withdrew the testing requirement for Aspergillus. The rule also specifies that items that had been previously tested to contain Aspergillus are no longer considered to have failed a compliance test. Due to these recent developments, OLCC is working to coordinate the release of any such items that have been on hold in CTS.
Cannabis items for sale in Oregon, such as bud, pre-rolls, and vape pens that were harvested or manufactured on and after March 1, 2023, were required to be tested for mold. During the time period the testing requirement was affected, the overall industry failure rate for flower was 9%.
For more information:
Oregon Liquor Control Commission
www.oregon.gov/olcc
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