California assembly member Reggie Jones-Sawyer recently introduced assembly bill 1610, which aims to protect both cannabis consumers and the legal cannabis market by improving testing and labeling standards. The bill is Jones-Sawyer’s attempt at maintaining the high quality of California cannabis products while simultaneously keeping the public safe and informed.
Furthermore, California has seen a growing trend of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) inflation, but brands and labels often wrongfully overstate the level of THC in products in order to charge higher prices. In fact, a recent sample of 150 randomly chosen legal California cannabis products found that 87% had inaccurately high THC potency labels. This is a major problem, as it means many individuals are unknowingly consuming cannabis products that are mislabeled. Aside from the danger this poses to consumers, it is also quite unfair since consumers are paying a lot for essentially a false promise.
Similarly, California, Michigan, Colorado, and Oklahoma have all experienced cannabis product recalls for unsafe levels of mold, yeast, E. coli, and salmonella. Obviously, finding such materials is highly dangerous and has resulted in multiple class-action lawsuits.
AB 1610 thus aims to protect individuals from consuming unsafe substances in legal cannabis by creating greater transparency and trust in the marketplace. The bill does so by requiring audits, shelf product testing, and blind proficiency lab testing. It also mandates that any product recall be publicly reported to consumers online. This will allow for more transparency between the state, dispensaries, and consumers.
The bill additionally requires that all licensed labs be annually audited by the Department of Cannabis Control. By requiring an audit, the bill is essentially demanding honesty and transparency from cannabis businesses. Overall, the new requirements ensure the public will be informed and aware of any products or companies that may be unsafe.
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