New Lab Testing Rules Create Opportunities for Licensed Cannabis Growers
/The days of lab shopping to get the best results may be coming to an end in multiple states. Over the past several years, regulators in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, and Nevada have increased enforcement of lab testing rules and even issued fines and suspended licenses for some noncompliant labs. Washington regulators revoked a testing lab’s license as far back as 2020.
At the start of 2024, new rules in California meant only 12 of the state’s 37 licensed cannabis testing labs were allowed to test marijuana flower and non-infused pre-rolls. The other 25 had to stop testing until they can comply with the new rules.
While lab shopping is still a rampant problem across all states operating in legal cannabis markets, these rule changes and enforcement efforts represent small steps in the right direction to try to protect the safety and legitimacy of the industry.
Let’s take a closer look at how we got here, what’s happening today, and what it means for cannabis cultivators in the United States.
The Long-Standing Problem of Lab Shopping and Fraudulent Testing Results
Since the legal cannabis industry launched and testing became a requirement, participants have been working the system in multiple ways. For example, some suppliers shop around for the lab that will give them the best results in terms of the highest THC percentages. Some even shop for labs that will give the best results for contaminants, which means unsafe products have made it to consumers.
In the early days of the legal industry, suppliers would send samples to multiple labs and use the best results, but word quickly spread about the labs that would deliver the results suppliers wanted. There is a very long list of ways that labs can generate results suppliers want through various testing methods. Some even go as far as manually modifying numbers. Many labs do this to stay in business because they know suppliers will go elsewhere if the lab doesn’t deliver the desired results.
Over the years, there have been numerous studies showing just how big the problem of inaccurate testing results goes in the legal cannabis industry. For example, researchers at the University of Northern Colorado’s School of Biological Sciences conducted a study back in 2018-2019 that was published in the journal PLOS One in 2023. They found that THC results in Colorado were inflated by approximately 25% on average by certain labs compared to results for the same sample flower tested by other labs. However, some lab results showed THC inflation as much as 50% higher.
A separate study in 2021 discovered that testing results in both Nevada and Washington were often inflated by more than 20%, and those inflated results consistently came from specific labs. These aren’t isolated incidents. It’s a well-known problem that states have been slow to effectively address.
California’s new rules that standardize cannabinoid testing methods for all licensed labs and provide a method of enforcement is a step in the right direction. Oregon will start random off-shelf testing this year. However, other states have been slower to act or have been unsuccessful with the attempts they’ve made to address the problem.
As the cannabis industry moves closer to federal legalization, this is a big problem that must be addressed. Product labels must be accurate and testing fraud must stop. It really is that simple.
Opportunities Created for Cannabis Growers
Safety and legitimacy should be top priorities for everyone operating in the legal cannabis industry. Everyone will operate on an even playing field when they’re all getting accurate test results.
Reliable test results for every sample also create opportunities for savvy cannabis growers. Rather than competing on THC and price alone – a race to the bottom that the largest operators will likely dominate through commoditization – smaller growers should focus on differentiation and experience just like craft brewers do.
This has always been true for smaller cultivators, but as more states crack down on THC inflation, competition to differentiate will increase. Now is the time to stake your claim and own a specific space in the market. Choose your differentiation opportunity and make it the top focus of your brand to gain a foothold sooner rather than later.
Following are some potential opportunities that accurate and reliable lab testing could create for savvy growers:
Optimize Terpenes and Minor Cannabinoids
Today, consumers think THC is everything when buying cannabis products, but the truth is very different. In time, more consumers will be educated about the importance of terpenes and minor cannabinoids and how the various components of cannabis work together.
In other words, they’ll understand that focusing on THC alone is a mistake because there are cannabis products with lower THC levels that are likely to deliver the desired effect and do it better than a product with the highest percentage of THC.
The inputs you use to grow your crops are critical to optimizing terpenes and minor cannabinoids. This includes your growing media. Cultivators who’ve switched to bio365 have reported significant increases in THC, terpenes, and minor cannabinoids. Here are some examples:
Apothca increased THC by 70%
Holisitic Industries increased terpenes by 48%
Holistic Industries increased cannabinoids by 35%
Our customers see results like these all the time. Therefore, the first step to seize the opportunities that accurate lab testing will bring to growers is to switch to bio365 soil in order to optimize not just THC but also terpenes and minor cannabinoids.
LEARN MORE: Top 3 Terpene Strategies Used by Growth-Oriented Cannabis Cultivators
Influence Cannabis Genetics
The DNA of your plants can either thrive during the growing process or be stunted. In order to thrive and optimize chemotype expression, your plants need to grow in the right environment. For controlled environment growers, this used to be very challenging. However, since bio365 invented its clean, living growing media, everything changed.
To effectively influence cannabis genetics during the growing process so you can differentiate your crops and stand out in the marketplace, you need to start with the right building blocks in your growing media. All bio365 growing media include organic nutrients and biology.
Bottom-line, your plants need nature and symbiotic relationships with soil microbiology to reach the full potential of their chemotype expression. Amendments aren’t good enough. The relationship needs are built into the cannabis plant’s DNA, and if these needs aren’t met, your plants won’t thrive. You also won’t be able to influence cannabis genetics.
With bio365 soil, you can leverage biomimicry and porosity to stress your plants and push chemotype expression to gain a competitive advantage.
LEARN MORE: Top 3 Cannabis Genetics Trends in 2024 Based on Consumer Preference
Deliver Top Quality
Fraudulent lab test results haven’t been limited to THC percentages. Labs have also reported inaccurate results for mold and other contaminants. Many growers who relied on inaccurate test results to get their products to market won’t be able to do so when states crack down on the lab shopping problem. This creates an opportunity for growers whose crops are clean to differentiate themselves.
Again, your inputs, including your growing media, play an important part in ensuring your test results are within required thresholds. When you use bio365 growing media, you not only get the biology and biochar that your plants need to thrive but you also get a 100% clean media engineered for controlled environments. It’s the best of both worlds and enables you to grow the highest quality plants possible.
LEARN MORE: Top 4 Opportunities for Cannabis Cultivators in 2024
Your Next Steps to Turn New Lab Testing Rules into Opportunities
Get started by identifying how you want to differentiate the crops you deliver to the marketplace, and then, set yourself up for success by using the right growing media. You can’t grow the best if you’re not starting with the best!
Contact us to learn more about how bio365 growing media can help you reach your goals and win in your market. Ready to give bio365 a try? Click the link to start a trial!