Testing

The burgeoning hemp-derived cannabinoid market often faces criticism due to the absence of standardised third-party testing and comprehensive regulation. While many consumers vouch for the efficacy of these products and numerous companies uphold stringent standards, the oversight in the hemp industry pales in comparison to that of the legal cannabis sector. Consequently, consumers using certain hemp-derived products may unknowingly encounter potent psychoactive effects, believing they are solely consuming hemp or CBD. The frequency of THC in goods advertised as hemp is… Read more.

Gen Z'ers Say They Can Drive Stoned Just Fine, Thank You Very Much! Many of Colorado's teenage drivers think they can drive safely while high on marijuana, according to a new poll by the state's Department of Transportation (CDOT). The CDOT research, which was released on Monday, February 5, is based on a survey of 1,000 persons conducted in 2023. It shows that residents in the "Gen-Z" cohort, which includes those between the ages of 16 and 24, are more likely… Read more.

Major Wall Street banks are forgoing drug testing for applicants, including marijuana, in a significant shift from customary standards. This trend mirrors wider shifts in legal and cultural views, as well as the rising acceptance of cannabis use in professional groups. The following lists the modifications that major financial institutions are implementing, as reported by Business Insider: Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC): No longer conducts drug testing for new hires or current employees. Citigroup Inc (NYSE: C): Employment does not… Read more.

It’s already fairly well known that music festivals tend to come with plenty of illicit drug use. The activity is so common at festivals, and in dance scenes as a whole, that organizers and attendees alike are becoming increasingly more equipped to combat potential overdoses through a variety of measures. A new study published in the International Journal of Drug Policy underscores the impact of these harm reduction strategies and consciously incorporating them into events, looking at the amount of drug-related deaths… Read more.

Montgomery County Police Chief Marcus Jones said that a state rule requiring law enforcement recruits to have abstained from cannabis use for at least three years before they can be hired hurts the state’s police recruitment opportunities, according to a News4 report. Chief Jones, who is also the head of the Fraternal Order of Police and a Montgomery County Council Member, asked the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission in a letter last year to revise the regulations. Montgomery County Assistant Chief Administrative… Read more.

New state guidance for addiction services and treatment programs in New York advises against routine screening for marijuana use, an approach designed to parallel that used for alcohol. Some clinicians see the change, which is being implemented following the state’s legalization of cannabis, as a step away from an abstinence-only view of recovery and toward a more flexible approach aimed at minimizing harm. “With the legalization of adult-use cannabis in NYS, testing for the metabolite of THC routinely is not… Read more.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) food safety workers are being encouraged to exercise caution and avoid cannabis products, including federally legal CBD, as the agency observes an “uptick” in positive THC tests amid “confusion” as more states enact legalization. USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) put out a notice last last month reminding employees that they’re “required to follow all Federal laws regarding the use of illegal drugs, including cannabis, also commonly known as marijuana.” “Over the last decade,… Read more.

Alaska Airlines is suing a mechanics union in federal court over a recent arbitration decision that reversed the 2022 firing of a technician who tested positive for THC. The company alleges the arbitration board that rendered the decision earlier this month “acted in excess of its authority by dispensing its own brand of industrial justice.” The five-page complaint, filed on Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington, says the board reinstated the worker, Gregory Chappell, “based on… Read more.

An Alaska Airlines technician in Washington State who was fired over a positive marijuana test had his termination reversed earlier this month after formally challenging the decision, insisting he did not knowingly use cannabis and was unaware of how THC would have gotten into his system. The worker, whose name was redacted from an arbitration decision provided by a lawyer for his union, was given a random drug test in July, 2022. The level of THC metabolites came back above… Read more.

Washington, D.C. medical marijuana patients could submit products directly to labs for testing—and regulators would be able to issue temporary cannabis patient registrations to non-residents that last for up to a year—under a bill that was recently sent to the mayor’s desk. The legislation, sponsored by D.C. Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) and Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (D), would additionally expand who could qualify as social equity cannabis license applicants. It was sent to Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) late last month, and… Read more.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) has signed a bill that would allow doctors to immediately start prescribing certain currently illicit drugs like psilocybin and MDMA if they’re federally rescheduled, and he also approved separate legislation to amend THC variance testing requirements for marijuana. The governor signed off on the measures—which are just two of more than a dozen cannabis and drug policy reform proposals on his desk—on Saturday. AB 1021, sponsored by Assemblymembers Buffy Wicks (D), Isaac Bryan (D) and Corey… Read more.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has stopped using a particular brand of cocaine field testing kits after more than a decade due to an investigation by one of their detectives which revealed the kits potentially give false positive results. According to local news outlets in the area, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office issued a notice to all officers to immediately stop using the test kits after a detective learned that multiple over-the-counter medications caused the kits to show a positive reading for cocaine. JSO… Read more.

The era of pre-employment marijuana screenings for most would-be state workers in Michigan officially came to a close on Sunday as a code change approved in July took effect. The change is the result of an amendment unanimously approved in July by the Michigan Civil Service Commission, which also gives people who’ve already been penalized over positive THC tests an opportunity to have the sanction retroactively rescinded. Commission Chair Jase Bolger said at the time that the intention is to treat cannabis… Read more.

The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission has approved the sale and transfer of marijuana products that previously tested positive for Aspergillus, a mold variety that has prompted product recalls in various markets. This regulatory decision now enables the release of 2,500 pounds of cannabis and 65,000 infused pre-roll units, initially withheld due to mold concerns, for distribution through licensed channels, as detailed in a news release. In May, the Oregon Health Authority implemented fresh regulations for cannabis producers, enforcing a… Read more.

You may remember an article posted on Cannabis.net called, "Legal Cannabis is More Expensive But It is Lab-Tested and Safe, NOT!", where Colorado has seen a large amount of attempted cheating and work-arounds for cannabis samples to get approved as safe from their cannabis testing lab reports.  The premise highlights how everyone, including legal weed growers that have to have products tested, are trying to juice their already thin profits by using pesticides and other banned substances to ehance grow results. Is… Read more.

In the cannabis industry, there is a strong focus on producing highly potent products, leading to intense competition among producers. This presents a challenge for marijuana testing laboratories responsible for assessing the potency of these products. This issue has mainly emerged in regions like California and other states where cannabis is legalized. Josh Swider, the CEO of Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs, highlights this problem and suggests that Missouri should take note. In 2020, Swider started receiving requests from cannabis producers who wanted a guaranteed… Read more.