A peer-reviewed study on THC potency found that 70% of sampled cannabis products from Colorado were inflated by at least 15%.
Inaccurate potency levels have been a concern in the industry for some time.
In November 2022, Cannabis Business Times spoke with several cannabis industry professionals about lab shopping and THC potency and how it affects the market, patients and consumers.
Industry members told CBT that many cannabis businesses will “lab shop” for cannabis testing laboratories that will provide them the highest flower and concentrate THC potency results and will place inaccurate results on product labels.
For example, Ben Rosman, a licensed attorney and CEO and co-founder of PSI Labs, told CBT that he has had many potential clients ask the lab if they can inflate THC potency and has even had some clients switch to another lab that will produce a higher potency results–a request PSI Labs will not fulfill.
“We’ve consistently, since legalization on the adult-use side, seen some pushback from some growers, like, ‘Hey, there are some labs out there that will increase potency. Can you guys help us out?’” Rosman told CBT. “And it’s not something we’re willing to do. But that does mean that we lose clients over it. This is something that happens all across the country.”
This was an ongoing theme with other lab owners CBT spoke to in November, such as SC Labs and ACS Laboratory, whose owners said they’ve had customers call and request higher THC results and take business elsewhere when their request isn’t fulfilled. Owners also mentioned that some licensed growers will send samples to multiple labs for testing and decide to work with the lab that produces the highest THC potency, also known as “lab shopping.”
Results from a recent peer-reviewed research study titled “Uncomfortably High: Testing Reveals Inflated THC Potency on Retail Cannabis Labels” aligns with industry concerns.
The researchers took 23 samples from 10 retail dispensaries throughout the Colorado Front Range. They used high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to analyze the THC potency, comparing the findings to the results reported on the packaging, according to the study.
The results found that the “average observed THC potency was 14.98[%] +/- 2.23%, which is substantially lower than recent reports summarizing dispensary-reported THC potency. The average observed THC potency was 23.1% lower than the lowest label reported values and 35.6% lower than the highest label reported values. Overall, 70% of the samples were more than 15% lower than the THC potency numbers reported on the label, with three samples having only one-half of the reported maximum THC potency," the study states.
The research could not determine the exact source of the discrepancies but noted that some likely factors causing this issue are a lack of regulatory oversight, limited testing protocols and financial incentives to market high-THC potency.
“Given our results, it is urgent that steps are taken to increase label accuracy of cannabis being sold to the public. The lack of accurate reporting of THC potency can have impacts on medical patients controlling dosage, recreational consumers expecting an effect aligned with price, and trust in the industry as a whole. As the legal cannabis market continues to grow, it is essential that the industry moves toward selling products with more accurate labeling,” the authors wrote.
