From how it all started to where it’s going, this is how the Bay State cannabis lab testing issue festered and metastasized
You can read the Jan. 30 complaint filed by MCR Labs against eight other Massachusetts Independent Testing Labs here (and here is our cursory writeup on the matter). Talking Joints Memo will be covering the lawsuit extensively in the coming weeks and months. But to truly understand how the situation over “lab shopping” and other cannabis testing issues reached a boiling point, start with the articles below, which cover the past two years of this ongoing intensifying saga.
March 29, 2023
The Latest Nightmare For Mass Cannabis Regulators: Beef With A Testing Lab
“Our drivers were accosted in the parking lot by the CCC team. They were shouted at and forced to open sample cases.”
April 6, 2023
5 Things Mass Cannabis Industry Stakeholders Are Saying In Private
From regulator gossip to wholesale musical chairs and storm protection
June 6, 2023
Labs Ask Lawmakers For More Standardization And Transparency, With Limits
“Lab shopping is widespread here … The financial incentives are strong and there are no real incentives for honesty or accuracy.”
June 23, 2023
CCC Research Advisors Approve Cannabis Lab Testing Recommendations
“At the heart of these recommendations is that we’re lacking clear standards and guidelines.”
November 28, 2023
Regulators Issue Bulletin In Attempt To Standardize Cannabis Testing
Following embarrassing complaints from scientists and stakeholders about weak standards for measuring potency, Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission publishes new guidance document
December 16, 2023
Proving The Biggest Mass Cannabis Story Of 2023
“I won’t say which lab is manipulating data and which isn’t, but both can’t be right.”
March 11, 2024
CCC Contacts Licensees About “Cannabinoid Reporting” By Testing Labs
“This letter responds to inquiries received by the Commission and provides clarification regarding the agency’s timelines for implementation.”
April 15, 2024
How Lab Shopping Enables The Spread Of Moldy Weed
Massachusetts has a cannabis fraud problem, and not just in terms of inflated potency
September 3, 2024
Which Cultivars Are Most And Least Susceptible To Yeast And Mold?
Multistate data set enables researchers to explore failure rates by strain across the country
November 7, 2024
Cannabis Regulators Hear Dirty Details About Moldy Weed And Potency Inflation
Issues around Independent Testing Labs for Massachusetts cannabis were front and center at Cannabis Control Commission hearing
October 24, 2024
CCC Research Subcommittee Gets Laser-Focused On Lab Testing
“Either regulators step in and solve this problem, as we have seen in multiple states, or honest labs go out of business.”
November 21, 2024
Regulators Want To Address “Lab Shopping.” Are They Taking The Right Actions?
The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is considering changes to improve laboratory integrity and prevent fraud. But stakeholders say the agency is missing the big picture.
December 11, 2024
CCC Research Subcommittee Addresses Lab Testing, Medical Cards
Body passes recommendation for Cannabis Control Commission to “prioritize previous [Cannabis Advisory Board] recommendations”
December 15, 2024
To Thwart “Lab Shopping,” Regulators Announce “One Sample, One CoA” Policy
Massachusetts cannabis stakeholders say new CCC action is a small step toward stopping laboratory fraud, but nonetheless movement in the right direction
January 9, 2025
2025 Preview: Predictions For A New Year In Massachusetts Cannabis
Talking Joints Memo sources and writers predict what’s coming for stakeholders, consumers, social consumption, business, products, culture, and the Cannabis Control Commission
