Pesticide Testing is Now Compulsory for Rhode Island-Grown Cannabis
The days of pesticide-contaminated cannabis are over in Rhode Island. Or, at least, that’s the plan.
From today, June 30, all cannabis harvested in the northeastern state must undergo pesticide testing at a cannabis lab.
The deadline was first announced by the state’s Department of Business Regulation on February 2 this year.
“All flower products with a harvest date on or after June 30, 2022 must be sampled and receive passing pesticide results from a licensed laboratory […] in order to be designated as medical marijuana and be offered for sale at a compassion center”, read the statement.
The measure follows similar rulings from the Department of Business Regulation requiring cannabis flower products to be tested for heavy metals (required since December 30, 2021), water activity (required since May 24, 2021), and microbial testing (required since March 16, 2021).
As per the bulletin’s wording, the new rule currently only applies to medical cannabis; recreational cannabis was only legalized on May 25 of this year in Rhode Island and sales aren’t expected to begin until December.
And while medical cannabis has been legal in the state since 2006, its testing has only recently been formalized. The first cannabis lab in the state, Green Peaks Analytical, was licensed in July 2020.
Up until Green Peaks’ approval, any medical cannabis sold in Rhode Island dispensaries had either been tested by growers, by the dispensaries, or by unlicensed, private labs.
