As part of its ongoing shelf audit program, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (Commission) recently completed a review of THC potency on cannabis flower product labels, finding that most samples fell within an accurate range. The Commission is in the process of notifying producers whose products were found to be noncompliant and will prevent further sales of those products.
The Commission began its shelf audit of cannabis flower products in May as part of its duty to ensure a safe marketplace for consumers and patients. Cannabis flower products sold on the adult-use market with higher THC levels generally sell at higher prices, and medical patients use THC potency for accurate dosing.
“The Commission has a responsibility as a regulatory and consumer protection agency to ensure product labels are accurate,” Chair Chris Harding said. “This is also a matter of health and safety for medical marijuana patients who rely on potency for accurate dosing. This audit represents a step forward in our efforts to enhance our oversight to maintain trust in the adult-use and medical marijuana markets.”
Commission regulations require cannabis flower products marketed and sold to consumers and patients to bear labels detailing cannabinoid content and their respective amounts. The state’s 10 Independent Testing Laboratories (ITLs) evaluate THC content as part of required product testing.
Due to inherent variations between plants—and variables like shelf stability—the Commission established that an accurate label is within 75% to 125% of the potency shown on the label. For example, a product labeled at 15% THC has an acceptable range of 11.25% to 18.75% total THC.
For the audit, the Commission selected 63 cannabis flower products from 62 producers off the shelves of retail stores and medical dispensaries and used ITLs to verify potency amounts. The Commission rated each compliant product as “green” for high accuracy or “yellow” for products near the edge of the acceptable range. Thirteen samples were rated as “red” for falling outside the acceptable range and producers will be required to take follow-up actions. Seven products were within 2 percent of the labeled potency.
The Commission began alerting producers involved in the audit about the results on Thursday. The notices will continue to go out on a rolling basis and will be posted for public review on a dedicated page accessible through the Investigations and Enforcement portal.
The producers receiving red notices shall follow up in one of four ways:
- Recall and repurpose, requiring new testing;
- Recall and relabel with audit result;
- Retest the product; or
- Destroy the product.
The Commission has placed holds on the noncompliant products to prevent further sales as licensees follow up. Although not responsible for product label accuracy, marijuana retailers and medical dispensaries may choose to remove and destroy affected products.
Consumers and patients who purchased the affected products may contact the producer using the information displayed on product labels.
“This shelf audit represents the continuing work of our internal testing task force, which we created to focus on testing issues as part of our mission to oversee a safe, equitable cannabis marketplace in Massachusetts,” Executive Director Travis Ahern said. “The audit will also help us calibrate future audits as we move toward random testing for contaminants of concern, including pesticides, heavy metals, yeast and mold, and bacteria.”
