Massachusetts is one of 10 states that allows people to use marijuana recreationally. But with legalization comes, well, legislation — including standards for safety testing.
Only one lab has completed the application for a license from the state government to test weed for microbial and other contaminants for recreational sales. The Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission is expected to vote on that application later this month.
But that lab — and the others that may follow — will need tests to conduct their work. Woburn-based Medicinal Genomics claims its tests, which cost about $5 each per sample, have a specificity of 96.3 percent for bacterial contaminants and 99.97 percent for fungal ones. The company also says its genetic approach is better than traditional culture methods for detecting pathogens on marijuana because its species-specific approach allows cultivators to use “good” microbes. (Some, however, are concerned the tests are might be too sensitive or fall behind the curve as pathogens mutate.)
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