Mass. marijuana regulators approve two testing labs

BOSTON (AP) — The first retail marijuana stores in the eastern United States moved a major step closer to opening on Thursday when Massachusetts regulators approved licenses for two independent testing labs.

The state’s voter-approved recreational marijuana law requires all cannabis products be tested for contaminants and the concentration of THC — the psychotropic chemical in marijuana — before they can be sold to consumers. The lack of any licensed labs had been among several factors delaying the rollout of retail sales which had originally been targeted to begin July 1.

The Cannabis Control Commission voted to license CDX Analytics, of Salem, and MCR Labs, of Framingham, pending final inspections and other conditions.

Both facilities already hold licenses from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health to test medical marijuana, but were required to seek separate commercial licenses for the testing of recreational pot. They also needed to negotiate host community agreements with municipal officials.

The labs and their owners are prohibited from having any business associations with retailers or other commercial cannabis companies.

Recreational marijuana is legal in nine states and the District of Columbia, but retail outlets have opened only in western states so far.

In Maine, where voters also legalized recreational marijuana in 2016, pot shops could begin opening next year.

Vermont and Washington, D.C., allow adults to legally possess marijuana for recreational purposes but their laws do not permit retail sales.

Also on Thursday, the Massachusetts regulators voted down a proposal that they begin reviewing all host community agreements struck between cities and towns and