Curaleaf Removes Tens of Thousands of New York Products with Unapproved Potency Labels.

By Hunter Dublin | August 16, 2022

Curaleaf, a New York medical cannabis manufacturer, has been ordered to remove tens of thousands of cannabis units off dispensary shelves after switching to a new method of identifying product potency without the consent of state authorities, according to Syracuse.com. Curaleaf began utilizing "dry weight" measures on its products in July. Still, the firm has yet to acquire certification from the Office of Cannabis Management (OCM).

While all medical cannabis products marketed in New York are measured in "wet weight," the "dry weight" approach yields much greater THC concentrations, according to the research. For example, a product with a 20% THC percentage utilizing wet weight measurement might have a THC percentage as high as 37% using dry weight testing.

According to Stephanie Cunha, a Curaleaf representative, dry weight "is regarded the most precise measure for THC levels on any sort of cannabis sample," Connecticut, New Jersey, and Maryland also utilize it.

Bob Miller, COO of ACT Laboratories, stated that dry weight enables more precise product-to-product or lab-to-lab comparisons in the laboratory, but the "downside of the methodology" is that it inflates potency, which "is deceptive to the patients."

The OCM stated in late July that dry weight measurements "are for informational purposes only and cannot be applied to approved product labeling until such time as an approved method is available."

The agency ordered removing the products that used the dry weight method. However, they also stated that they could be redistributed "with the New York mandated wet weight measurement," according to Cunha.