AREN’T ALL MARIJUANA PRODUCTS TESTED?

Q: What’s with all these stickers on my legal marijuana products reading: “This product has not been tested under California state law”? I thought legalization meant testing?

A: The testing part of legalization, where products are analyzed for potency and contaminants, is being phased in this year. In the interim, retailers can sell items under the old system, where testing was either voluntary or mandated at the city and county level.

To ensure that you’re buying tested product, shop in cities with mandatory medical marijuana testing, including Berkeley and San Jose.

But there’s a catch: Products sold in Berkeley still have to have that “not been tested” sticker, even if the manufacturer and retailer did test them. That’s because no products have been tested under the new state system, which is just coming online.

That system involves making sure that all the cannabis labs have met international standards for accuracy and that all commercially grown marijuana goes through a licensed lab. We should start seeing the first products come out under the new system later this year.

Got a cannabis question? Go to www. greenstate.com.

Edibles, above, and other cannabis products will be tested under a new state system that goes into effect later this year.