The Status of Microbial Testing in the U.S. Cannabis Industry and Future Outlooks

Currently, one of the key obstacles in the cannabis industry is that testing standards of products differ greatly from state to state. Without testing standards put into place through collaboration between food, drug, and cannabis industry experts, state testing laboratories could be missing key contaminants in routine testing. To help shift the stigma around the plant whilst ensuring the safety of consumers, cannabis products should be guaranteed to be safe and effective with clear, accurate labeling available to all patients and users.

One of the most important aspects of testing happens within the microbial department of any testing laboratory. Here products are tested for microbes such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Listeria. These microbes can cause serious illnesses and infections and could even lead to death in some of the population. At present, some states do not even require microbial testing. Even a cannabis powerhouse like the state of Colorado has had to recall products due to pitfalls in the testing regulations including in microbial testing. Nationwide testing standardization would allow collaboration between industry experts within states and between state lines, reduce the need for competition between accredited labs and their respective cannabis scientists, and increase product quality throughout the United States.

• The current status of microbial testing requirements and discrepancy between states
• Real-world case studies that underline the need for better testing regulations including the EVALI outbreak and recent recalls
• The need for testing standardization throughout the U.S. and collaboration between scientists

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