New York relaxes strict testing requirements for cannabis growers

Regulators in New York this week lifted a strict requirement that cannabis growers in the state had described as an “existential threat” to their operations.

NY Cannabis Insider reports that the state Bureau of Cannabis Management emailed growers on Tuesday to advise that it “updated its lab testing cutoffs document to reflect the pass/fail cutoffs associated with total number of viable aerobic bacteria and total number of yeast and mold Count for non-extracted cannabis products (e.g. cannabis flower, pre-roll, etc.).”

New York cannabis growers complained that the testing limits for bacteria, yeast, and mold were far too high, jeopardizing their ability to get the product to consumers.

Earlier this year, the state granted conditional licenses to growers to begin cultivating the first cannabis plant for adult use outdoors.

But growing outdoors made it difficult to reach those test limits.

“This is a step in the right direction for the success of this new market,” said Aaron Leentjes, a conditional breeder and co-founder and owner of UNIFI Cannabis, as quoted by NY Cannabis Insider. “With no option given to growers to grow indoors, it’s nice to see OCM adjusting their testing guidelines to better match the realities of outdoor growing.”

In its email sent Tuesday, the Office of Cannabis Management said that while testing continues, “there will be no defined limit for unextracted cannabis products in the adult use program.”

“It is the licensee’s responsibility to consider these results and any implications for the stability and expiration date of the product, as well as any risks to consumer health,” the OCM said in the email, as quoted by NY Cannabis Insider.

Recipients of the first two-year “conditional grower” licenses were given the green light to grow up to an acre of weed outdoors, although they were also allowed to keep some plants in greenhouses.

“There is a market that we are building for small players, for large players, for mid-sized players, for family businesses and also for large corporations,” said Chris Alexander, executive director of the Office of Cannabis Management, of this summer’s first round of cultivation. “We believe it will be sufficient to provide primary care for our pharmacy locations that we are bringing into service.”

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, who faces re-election next week, said last month that the first state-regulated marijuana dispensaries are still on track to open by the end of this year.

“We assume that the first 20 pharmacies will be open by the end of this year,” Hochul said at the time. “And then about 20 more every month. So we’re not just going to throw it out like that. It will work and be successful.”

In the same interview, Hochul credited the introduction of the legal marijuana program after taking office from former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last August.

“Talk about the rollout being blocked,” she said. “When I became governor, nothing had happened. Nothing. It was closed because there was a battle between the administration and the legislature over who would be the executive director and the chairs of the cannabis review boards,” she said. “So I got a lot of credit for naming people in a week. I got things going. So when I talk to people about being part of this industry, the first thing they say is thank you. Because otherwise we could still wait and wait and wait, even for the most basic steps. So we made quick progress.”