52 THE SCIENTIST | the-scientist.com
COURTESY OF CANNASAFEW
hen voters in Massachu-
setts approved a 2012 bal-
lot measure to legalize the
sale and use of medical marijuana, it
came as a relief for many patients: they
now had legal access to a drug known to
relieve chronic pain and muscle spastic-
ity associat ed with a range of conditions,
including HIV and multiple sclerosis.
But the new law worried Christopher
Hudalla, then a chemist at Waters Corpo-
ration, a Massachusetts-based company
that manufactures analytical laboratory
instruments. Like other states, Massa-
chusetts had legalized cannabis without
mandating that the herb, or products
derived from it, be tested for safety before
being sold, which struck Hudalla as odd.
“Anything we put on or in our body is
tested, whether it’s cosmetics, or lotions,
or bread, or nutritional supplements,” he
tells The Scientist. “So why would mari-
juana, especially as it’s being considered
medical—why would that not be tested?”
Some time after the law went into
effect in early 2013, Hudalla visited a
university library in Boston to find out
about safety issues associated with can-
nabis. He didn’t expect acute adverse
effects from the plant’s main active ingre-
dients, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) or
cannabidiol (CBD), or the hundreds of
other compounds contained cannabis.
Humans have been smoking the herb
for thousands of years, he adds.
He was, however, concerned about
the risks of contamination. Sure enough,
he found dozens of case reports docu-
menting people who had fallen ill—and
sometimes died—after smoking can-
nabis products that had been contam-
inated with harmful substances, from
pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals
to molds and other microbes.Hudalla printed out the studies and
took them to the Massachusetts Depart-
ment of Public Health, where officials
told him they’d look into the issue. A few
weeks later, in May 2013, he spotted an
article in The Boston Globe reporting that
Massachusetts had become the first state
to mandate analytical testing of medical
marijuana. Companies wanting to sell
medicinal cannabis in the state would
have to hire an independent lab to test
their products for contaminants and for
potency—the latter to ensure the accu-
racy of product label claims. Other states
were quick to follow, typically mandat-
ing testing for both safety and potency.
By 2019, 26 states had introduced man-
datory testing for medical and/or recre-
ational markets, according to Cannabis
Industry Journal.These steps have led to an explosive
growth of companies specialized in can-
nabis testing. While some states, such
as Kentucky and North Carolina, only
got their first accredited cannabis test-
ing labs last year, well-established canna-
bis markets such as California have doz-
ens. In principle, these labs should act as
a US-wide filter that prevents unsafe or
in accurately labeled marijuana products
from reaching consumers. However, the
fledgling testing industry is facing con-
siderable challenges that compromise its
important role.
Because cannabis is still considered
illegal at the federal level, the responsibil-
ity of regulating cannabis and cannabis-The US cannabis market lacks standards for assessing the safety and potency of its
products, creating challenges for the fledgling industry that’s testing the herb.BY KATARINA ZIMMERHazy Regulations
BIO BUSINESSQUALITY CONTROL: An employee at California-
based testing company CannaSafe preps a canna-
bis sample for testing.