Worcester Business Journal

16 Worcester Business Journal | August 21, 2023 | wbjournal.com JOIN THE PARTY! TheHanoverTheatre.org 877.571.7469 15 YEARS 15 YEARS RS V P f o r t h e s e F R E E e v en ts RS V P f o r t h e s e F R E E e v en ts SAT, SEPT 9 • 2-9 pm 15th Anniversary Season Kick-Off & Plaza Party FREE & OPEN TO THE PUBLIC 2-4 pm @Conservatory | Stop by the Open House. 4-5 pm @JMAC/BrickBox | Sit in on the open rehearsal of The Glass Menagerie by THT Rep. 5:15-6:30 pm @Main Stage | See the premiere of the THT documentary, On a Wing and a Prayer: Achieving the Impossible Dream PLUS enjoy a Jagged Lile Pill Jagged Lile Pill spotlight performance by DeAnne Stewart, a previous Broadway cast member. 6:30-9 pm @Plaza | Stay and enjoy music by South Street Band & treats from local food trucks. 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000 2,500 3,000 3,500 3,459 2,709 1,893 1,612 678 July 2019 July 2020 July 2021 July 2022 July 2023 The average number of plants harvested in a specific month Plants harvested for Mass. adult-use marijuana establishments The volume of product produced in Massachusetts has grown steadily since adult-use legalization. happening. "We have now recognized that allowing businesses to deploy their own choice does not provide us the consistency we need in the market," she said. e research subcommittee of the Cannabis Advisory Board, which provides guidance to the CCC, in a June report recommended a number of reforms to improvise testing of cannabis. ey include: • making data about fail rates in testing available to the public, • convening a permanent working group to regularly make recommendations about both testing and labeling, including a toxicologist, microbiologist, mycologist, plant biologist, chemist, consumer, patient advocate, retailer, manufacturer, and cultivator • defining total THC and clarifying related guidance. e recommendations still need approval from the full CAB board, before they are sent to the CCC for consideration. Aer a product from a wholesaler passes a safety test at a laboratory, retailers have no obligation to do further testing of the cannabis products they will sell. ere is currently no secret shopper program at the CCC to randomly test retail products available for consumer purchase, a concern for Kahn. A secret shopper program may soon be on the table at the commission, O'Brien said. Furthermore, the CCC understands the concern some in the industry have, and the commission is working on becoming more nimble and transparent, O'Brien said. She has been the chair for 11 months and understands the frustrations from legislators and the people in their districts. Her primary role, she said, is improving their functionality from the inside so that legislation is not necessary. CCC is working to become more collaborative to prevent slowdows in communication in the future, she said. "We need to make sure we are internally responsive and transparent," said O'Brien. How high will it get you? CAB's proposed rule changes for the CCC address a secondary concern of testing laboratories, too: how much high-inducing THC is actually in each product being sold. Massachusetts doesn't have an agreed-upon calculation for total THC potency levels in a product, which impacts consumer safety and is potential consumer fraud, as companies could use testing facilities that inflate the amount of THC actually in each product, Hudalla said. For an article published in December, Commonwealth Magazine sent several cannabis products purchased at a retailer to various Massachusetts testing facilities, and each of the testers found different levels of THC potency in the same product. Part of the issue was each facility had its own standards for how to calculate THC potency. ProVerde has asked CCC for guidance on how it should perform the calculations to match the rest of the state, but the CCC could not provide an answer, Hudalla said. Working on clarifying and leveling this aspect is one of the potential recommendations that may be before the CCC, based on the June report. Truth in THC potency labels is a concern at MCR too, said Kahn. "People are buying products under the assumption that the label is true. People are getting ripped off. ey have a right to know what they're consuming," he said. Whether the concern is mold or unstandardized labeling practices, it ultimately has the biggest impact on the individuals making purchases at the end of the line, said Ianuzzi from ProVerde. Improvements at the CCC are necessary for their protection. "At the end of the day, consumers pay the price," said Ianuzzi. Continued from previous page Michael Kahn, founder and CEO of MCR Labs Source: Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission W

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