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Oregon - The panel charged with crafting rules for the state's medical marijuana retail industry continues to grapple with complex policy questions on security, whether municipalities can opt out of the dispensary law and cannabis testing. The group, which met Friday for the second time, also discussed potential fees, which are supposed to cover the cost of enforcing program rules. Rob Bovett, the Lincoln County District Attorney, suggested dispensary operators pay an application fee of $1,000 and an annual licensing fee of $5,000. The committee on Friday did not settle on a final recommendation.
The group is expected to wrap up its work by Dec. 1. Gov. John Kitzhaber addressed fees when he signed House Bill 3460 into law, directing the Oregon Health Authority to set fees adequate enough to allow "extraordinarily vigorous" enforcement of the state's rules. "That is the directive you have been given by the governor," Bovett told his fellow committee members. "I think that is a clear directive."
The state expects to hire four full-time employees to oversee the dispensary program, which Bovett said is inadequate to monitor compliance. The new law also includes a requirement for testing marijuana, the latest frontier in states' evolving approach to regulating cannabis. Twenty states, and Washington, D.C., allow marijuana for medicinal use, but Oregon is among only a handful that will require cannabis testing. Nationally, advocates have lobbied states with medical marijuana laws to mandate lab tests for a range of impurities and even potency, arguing that consumers deserve detailed information about the drug before consuming it.
Among the issues being considered: How often should marijuana be tested and who should perform the tests? Should third-party labs or the dispensaries themselves perform the tests? Should those conducting the tests be required to undergo criminal background checks, similar to the ones required of dispensary owners? What standards should the labs follow? Are any levels of mold, mildew and pesticide acceptable?
"To complicate things even further, there aren't any registered pesticides for cannabis at all in Oregon," Todd Dalotto, a committee member who also serves on the state's Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, told the group. He said the committee needs to strike a balance between protecting medical marijuana patients and overregulating dispensaries.
"We don't want to under-regulate," he said. "We don't want to over-regulate. That would be cumbersome and expensive and we wouldn't be able to compete with drug dealers." Dalotto also said some pesticide use, particularly on marijuana seedlings or starts, is necessary. He said he's seen growers give plants that have not been treated with pesticides to patients. "They are basically bringing spider mite bombs back to their gardens," he said.
The committee, he added, needs to stay focused on dispensaries, not growers or labs, neither of which were addressed in the law. "We can only regulated what the medical marijuana facility does," he said. "So we can't say that labs have to be accredited or certified. But we can say medical marijuana facilities may only accept medicine that has been tested."
Cannabis testing has emerged as a cottage industry nationally in the past couple of years. Oregon is home to a few testing companies, though they are not regulated by the state. Marijuana's tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, potency is often listed alongside the drug in Oregon's medical marijuana retail outlets, which have proliferated without state permitting or oversight. It's less common to find a detailed analysis of pesticides used in growing the plant and whether it's contaminated with mold, mildew or harmful bacteria, such as salmonella.
Rowshan Reordan, owner of Green Leaf Lab, a marijuana testing business in Portland, told The Oregonian earlier this week that demand for testing is on the rise. She employees five people, including a chemist, all of them medical marijuana cardholders. She said potency tests are the most popular service she offers, but her lab also tests for salmonella, E. coli, mold and pesticides.
Marijuana testing labs should have to undergo a certification process, said Reordan. "A professional lab should have chemist who has the educational background to run the equipment and be able to follow good educational practice," she said.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us | Oregonian Media GroupOregonian Media Group
Website: Committee drafting medical marijuana rules considers testing, fees and security | OregonLive.com
The group is expected to wrap up its work by Dec. 1. Gov. John Kitzhaber addressed fees when he signed House Bill 3460 into law, directing the Oregon Health Authority to set fees adequate enough to allow "extraordinarily vigorous" enforcement of the state's rules. "That is the directive you have been given by the governor," Bovett told his fellow committee members. "I think that is a clear directive."
The state expects to hire four full-time employees to oversee the dispensary program, which Bovett said is inadequate to monitor compliance. The new law also includes a requirement for testing marijuana, the latest frontier in states' evolving approach to regulating cannabis. Twenty states, and Washington, D.C., allow marijuana for medicinal use, but Oregon is among only a handful that will require cannabis testing. Nationally, advocates have lobbied states with medical marijuana laws to mandate lab tests for a range of impurities and even potency, arguing that consumers deserve detailed information about the drug before consuming it.
Among the issues being considered: How often should marijuana be tested and who should perform the tests? Should third-party labs or the dispensaries themselves perform the tests? Should those conducting the tests be required to undergo criminal background checks, similar to the ones required of dispensary owners? What standards should the labs follow? Are any levels of mold, mildew and pesticide acceptable?
"To complicate things even further, there aren't any registered pesticides for cannabis at all in Oregon," Todd Dalotto, a committee member who also serves on the state's Advisory Committee on Medical Marijuana, told the group. He said the committee needs to strike a balance between protecting medical marijuana patients and overregulating dispensaries.
"We don't want to under-regulate," he said. "We don't want to over-regulate. That would be cumbersome and expensive and we wouldn't be able to compete with drug dealers." Dalotto also said some pesticide use, particularly on marijuana seedlings or starts, is necessary. He said he's seen growers give plants that have not been treated with pesticides to patients. "They are basically bringing spider mite bombs back to their gardens," he said.
The committee, he added, needs to stay focused on dispensaries, not growers or labs, neither of which were addressed in the law. "We can only regulated what the medical marijuana facility does," he said. "So we can't say that labs have to be accredited or certified. But we can say medical marijuana facilities may only accept medicine that has been tested."
Cannabis testing has emerged as a cottage industry nationally in the past couple of years. Oregon is home to a few testing companies, though they are not regulated by the state. Marijuana's tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, potency is often listed alongside the drug in Oregon's medical marijuana retail outlets, which have proliferated without state permitting or oversight. It's less common to find a detailed analysis of pesticides used in growing the plant and whether it's contaminated with mold, mildew or harmful bacteria, such as salmonella.
Rowshan Reordan, owner of Green Leaf Lab, a marijuana testing business in Portland, told The Oregonian earlier this week that demand for testing is on the rise. She employees five people, including a chemist, all of them medical marijuana cardholders. She said potency tests are the most popular service she offers, but her lab also tests for salmonella, E. coli, mold and pesticides.
Marijuana testing labs should have to undergo a certification process, said Reordan. "A professional lab should have chemist who has the educational background to run the equipment and be able to follow good educational practice," she said.
News Hawk - The General @ 420 MAGAZINE ®
Source: Oregonlive.com
Author: Noelle Crombie
Contact: Contact Us | Oregonian Media GroupOregonian Media Group
Website: Committee drafting medical marijuana rules considers testing, fees and security | OregonLive.com
