BOSTON (WHDH) - The start of recreational pot sales in Massachusetts is likely just days away after the Cannabis Control Commission authorized two independent laboratories to start testing marijuana and marijuana products on Wednesday.
CDX Analytics, of Salem, and MCR Labs, of Framingham, received notices to commence operations after they satisfied specified conditions, passed inspections, fingerprinted lab agents, and became established in Metrc, a mandatory seed-to-sale tracking system that records and verifies when production batches have been tested, officials said.
The commission’s authorization gives laboratories a minimum of three calendar days to coordinate opening day logistics with their host community, local law enforcement, marijuana establishment colleagues, and other essential stakeholders before adult-use operations begin.
“When Massachusetts voters legalized adult-use cannabis, they communicated a desire to purchase products that are safely regulated and properly tested,” Commission Executive Director Shawn Collins said in a statement. “The Commission has done scrupulous due diligence to make that vision a reality and ensure licensed independent testing labs maximize public health and public safety.”
Massachusetts voters legalized recreational marijuana for adults in November 2016, but sales were held back for nearly two years because state law requires that all cannabis products be tested for any possible contaminants before they are sold.
Cultivate Holdings in Leicester, New England Treatment Access in Northampton, and Pharmacannis Massachusetts in Wareham are retailers that have been licensed by the commission to sell recreational marijuana.
Commission Chairman Steve Hoffman said last week that the state was “getting really close” to launching marijuana sales.
(Copyright (c) 2024 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)