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Cannabis testing lab reaches agreement with regulators to lift suspension
'Assured Testing Labs is pleased to have reached agreement with the Massachusetts CCC so that we can return to operations,' a company spokesperson said in a statement. 'While we disagree with aspects of how we got here, we are eager to return to what we do best: delivering scientific, evidence-backed testing with industry leading cannabis expertise.'
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Danny Carson, a cannabis workers' rights advocate with the Cannabis Worker Safety Coalition, said he was 'displeased' with the agreement, which he felt should have gone further to protect the health of cannabis workers and consumers.
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The health impacts of consuming contaminated marijuana can be difficult to trace, but can include respiratory issues or
The Commission last week issued an
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The commission put an administrative hold on the products that had not yet been sold and created a health advisory web portal, but ultimately the onus is on consumers and retailers to follow through.
A Commission spokesperson said the agency 'remains vigilant in its efforts to ensure consumers and patients have access to fully tested, safe products in the legal marketplace.'
Some advocates say the advisory is too little, too late.
'I think it's a failure, once again, on the part of the CCC for workers, for consumers, and for the public,' Carson said.
The advisory tells consumers to check the labels on their recreational or medical use marijuana products to see if they were tested between April 1, 2024, and April 15, 2025 and then cross reference the package label number with the
Cannabis testing labs changing yeast and mold measurements to ensure higher pass rates on contaminant testing and attract business from cultivators is a widespread problem,
Other states have issued recalls for safety reasons. New York in July issued a recall as a 'precautionary measure' following a product quarantine for concerns with testing accuracy. Missouri regulators
Steve Reilly, head of government relations at retailer INSA, said a recall would have been appropriate given the uncertainty about the full extent of the problem. Reilly said INSA does not sell products tested by Assured, but it did not seem like there would be any consequences for retailers that did not follow recall procedures.
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'I think it's a good step,' Reilly said, 'but probably could have been sooner.'
Each test sample can result in hundreds of product packages, meaning the process identifying all potentially affected products was 'labor and time intensive,' CCC enforcement counsel Timothy Goodin said at a public meeting on Thursday.
Dr. Jordan Tishler, president of the Association of Cannabinoid Specialists, said it was reassuring to see the Commission issue a warning. But he said he worried that having to locate and compare label numbers, rather than brand or dispensary names, might deter people from heeding it.
Tishler said he sent his patients an alert informing them of the advisory and instructing them to check their cannabis, but he said he has not heard from any of them with concerns. This either indicates everyone checked their products and everything was fine, he said, or, more likely, they ignored the warning or found it too confusing.
For people with strong immune systems, Tishler said, the effects of consuming contaminated marijuana could take decades to appear. But for immunocompromised people — those receiving chemotherapy, for example — it could be life-threatening, he said.
'If you have cannabis at home, you really should make the effort to go online and make sure that it's okay, because it's not much ado about nothing,' he said. 'It could be something, and you should just take a few moments to check so that you're safe.'
Stella Tannenbaum can be reached at
