Two local labs have become the first to be licensed by Oregon to test marijuana for pesticides and potency before it can be sold – a major step in getting the state’s recreational marijuana industry off the ground.
“Now businesses are licensed to start testing product which will allow its movement through our regulatory system and the industry supply chain,” said Steve Marks, OLCC Executive Director. “we expect additional lab capacity to come online to meet the needs of the fall marijuana harvest.”
Without labs to test the product, marijuana suppliers are concerned they won’t be able to get enough product on the shelves of dispensaries.
Pixis Labs and Green Leaf Lab, both in Multnomah County, are now allowed to test product provided to them by other licensees using the state’s Cannabis Tracking System (CTS). Pixis and Green Leaf Lab have also been certified by ORELAP, the State of Oregon’s laboratory accreditation program, administered by the Oregon Health Authority.
The state hopes to have several more labs licensed by October.
The Oregon Liqour Control Commission also approved the licenses for two recreational marijuana processors.
Loud Labs, LLC and Frave, Inc., both located in Multnomah County, are licensed to process cannabis flower into other cannabis products. Loud Labs, trading as Dab Society Extracts, is licensed to produce concentrates, edibles and extracts. Frave, doing business as Cascadia Herbals, is licensed to produce concentrated and edibles.
To date, the OLCC has approved 231 recreational marijuana producer, lab, wholesaler, and processor licenses. OLCC investigators are processing 548 other applications, and the OLCC is reviewing between 250 to 300 additional applications that have not submitted and approved Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS). Obtaining an approved LUCS is a threshold requirement for an applicant to complete before the OLCC begins processing the application or assigns it to an investigator.
