“I think that sample fraud should be a death sentence for a licensee. Right now, it’s a $15,000 slap on the wrist.”
By Christopher Osher, ProPublica and Evan Wyloge, The Denver Gazette
This story was originally published by ProPublica.
Colorado marijuana manufacturers would no longer be allowed to choose which product samples they send for mandatory lab testing under a new regulatory proposal discussed at a policy forum on Friday.
Instead, the state’s Marijuana Enforcement Division may require independent labs or outside vendors to collect product samples for the testing that’s required before companies can sell their products to ensure they’re free of contaminants.
The change would address a long-standing complaint from some marijuana manufacturers that bad actors are cheating the system. They say some companies are selecting samples that can pass tests while sending products to dispensaries that might be contaminated with chemical solvents, fungus or pesticides.
A Denver Gazette and ProPublica investigation last month showed that the system for testing marijuana products relies on an honor code that’s open to manipulation.
In 2024 alone, Colorado officials found two dozen cases in which companies had violated testing rules, often by submitting samples that were different from what the companies
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