Oregon Get Ready for New Cannabis Testing Requirements on March 1st

By: Buz Deliere | February 20, 2023

Oregonians can expect changes to the state's cannabis testing requirements as of next week, with updated standards coming from both the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Oregon Liquor & Cannabis Commission (OLCC). Starting March 1st, 2023 all marijuana products will be tested for heavy metals and microbial contaminations. OLCC is encouraging owners to stay informed about these new mandatory tests.

The OLCC recently announced the rules for testing cannabis products, affecting both medical and recreational markets. The Office of Health Authority wrote these regulations which can be found in Chapter 333 Divisions 7 and 64, you can read them HERE.

To ensure quality standards in the cannabis industry, the new rule set to take effect on March 1, 2023; requires all products harvested or manufactured on and after that date to be tested for heavy metals and microbiological contaminants.

Testing for compliance with heavy metals, such as arsenic, cadmium, and mercury will be part of the new compliance testing. The microbiological contaminants compliance test now includes several species of Aspergillus fungus and two dangerous Escherichia coli strains and Salmonella.

The OLCC has announced new marijuana testing protocols, allowing composite samples of the plant to be examined in compliance with current regulations. Other states like New York saw a huge increase in contaminated products once cannabis legalization was in place. new York isn't alone several other states have seen an increase in contaminated cannabis products and people who purchase on the black market need to be aware also. This marks a step forward for the cannabis industry and its quality control measures across Oregon.

The Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC) recently announced that batches of marijuana or usable marijuana that fail microbiological contaminant testing may either be remedied through sterilization methods or processed with a hydrocarbon solvent system or CO2 extraction to effectively sterilize the batch. The rules pertaining to batches that have failed compliance testing can be read HERE.