Nova Analytic Labs has become the second testing lab in Maine to be licensed to test adult-use cannabis.
The Portland-based lab received the green light from the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy last Friday, January 22.
The approval marks a further maturation for the state cannabis sector, which only launched its recreational market last October.
Cannabis in Maine
The Maine Office of Marijuana Policy (MOMP) requires all legal adult-use cannabis samples to be tested for residual solvents, pesticides, molds and microbes, and cannabinoid potencies.
Only one other lab in the state, Nelson Analytical, is currently licensed to carry out these tests on legal recreational products. However, according to MOMP, another lab, Cat Lab, LCC, is in the approval process.
Writing in a press release, a representative from Nova Analytic Labs said that their newly licensed facility is “currently offering all Adult Use Phase 1, Phase 2 and elective tests. We also offer a complementary in-person or virtual Adult Use Sampling Training for all samplers and facility staff.”
“Soon we will begin offering an expanded pesticide panel and nutrient analysis,” the statement reads.
Unlike recreational cannabis, medical marijuana products in Maine aren’t mandated to undergo testing. But many medical companies still choose to send samples to state labs regardless.
One such ‘medical-only’ lab, ProVerde Laboratories, was recently shut down by Maine authorities for operating without a permit or a license.
Responding to Analytical Cannabis, ProVerde’s president and chief scientific officer, Chris Hudalla, explained that the Maine lab was “in operation before there were any requirements or mechanisms for licensing of marijuana testing laboratories in Maine.”
“We had not completed our application when the temporary license expired,” he added. “Based on that, we were asked to halt our laboratory operation, which we complied with immediately.”