New Jersey regulators adjust cannabis testing lab requirements

In the next few months, cannabis testing labs in New Jersey will be subject to new labeling requirements and must obey new action limits under recently approved rules.

For the first time, New Jersey now has its own testing standards, after having followed Maryland’s cannabis testing protocols since 2021.

Under the new rules approved by the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) on Feb. 18:

• The maximum “batch size” for usable cannabis is now 33.07 pounds, down from 100 pounds.
• Product labels must include the content of THCA, CBDA, CBG, CBGA and CBN as well as THC and CBD.

There are also new action limits for a long list of contaminants, the CRC noted in a news release.

Christopher Riggs, the CRC’s acting executive director, said in a statement that the new rules “are the result of rigorous research and collaboration with industry experts and regulatory bodies.”

New Jersey labs must adopt the new sampling changes by March 19 and the testing changes by May 23, according to the CRC.

The adjusted testing guidelines also come at a time of increased doubt in the validity and accuracy of cannabis testing lab results nationwide.

In an echo of allegations made across the country, licensed labs New York recently accused competitors of inflating THC potency in an effort to attract more business.

In Massachusetts, one laboratory recently sued rival labs after making repeated accusations that its competitors are massaging results to allow contaminated product to be sold.

Despite New Jersey’s changes, the state still lacks a state-run “reference lab” tasked with verifying and confirming results produced by commercial cannabis testing laboratories.