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COLUMBIA — Missouri officials will spend more than $6 million to establish a new state-run marijuana testing facility in Jefferson City.
The goal is to ensure the safety of about $1 billion worth of marijuana products. The lab will test the products for heavy metals, mold and other contaminants.
Missouri already has 10 officially licensed testing facilities. However, the tests conducted at those labs are often funded by the companies that sell the products, creating a conflict of interest.
“There is motivations and pressures on these independent labs to provide results that their clients want,” said Amy Moore, director of the Missouri Division of Cannabis Regulation. “I’m not saying that any of our labs are doing that, but that is one of the issues that we need to be sure of from a public health perspective.”
Experts said the new state-operated lab will test the products the independent labs have already tested to verify results from the independent labs — a process informed by instances from other states.
“In other states, there have been many instances in which private laboratories are reporting things that aren’t true,” said Dan Viets, the chair of the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws. “In some cases, they’re telling their clients what they want to hear.”
The facility will operate out of the Missouri State Public Health Laboratory in Jefferson City and is expected open during the fall of 2025.
”}]] The new lab in Jefferson City will evaluate the products being tested at 10 independently owned labs in Missouri. Read More