Updated mandatory testing regulations went into effect April 2, 2022 in Washington. Here's how they work:
Pesticide Testing
Pesticide testing on recreational products is required, as it's already required on medical products, as is heavy metals testing. The LCB will be allowed to do heavy metals testing on recreational products at random, or as part of an investigation.
Labeling Guidelines
Guidelines for labeling your products have not changed. Regarding pesticides, The LCB still wants labels to have a statement disclosing all pesticides applied to the marijuana plants and growing medium during production of the useable marijuana or the base marijuana used to create the concentrate or the extract added to infused products.
Other Material & Wet Flower
The testing rules do not affect Other Material traceability types or Wet Flower as those are not allowed to have test results attached and are meant only for extraction. Non-mandatory testing is okay for R&D, however, the results won't need to be uploaded to CCRS.
Concentrates & Infused Cooking Oil
Concentrates and infused cooking oil must also be tested for pesticides. Check with your lab on the total quantity of grams they will require for mandatory testing.
Sampling Rules for Dried Flower
Growers who sell tested Flower Lots will send them for mandatory testing before lotting. After receiving and entering the test results on the ID, proceed to lotting the bulk flower to pass the lab results to each lot.
Check with your lab on their specific requirements, but below is the minimum number of sample grams required.
Flower Weight | Flower Weight in Grams | Min # Sample Grams |
Up to 10 lbs | 4535.92g | 8g |
10 or more but < 20 lbs | 9071.85g | 12g |
20 or more but < 30 lbs | 13,607.8g | 15g |
30 or more but < 40 lbs | 18,143.7g | 18g |
40 or more but not more than max 50 lbs | 22,679.6g | 19g |
Note: GrowFlow now restricts the creation of Flower (bulk) to a maximum of 50 pounds of dry weight, helping to ensure compliance with testing weight limits.
Additional Information
The max weight limit for traceability types Flower Lot and MJ Mix have not been increased. The limit is still 5 pounds.
GrowFlow provides 5 default label templates to use for bulk flower testing and 4 additional default labels for testing of other traceability types or test types. See step 8 for the WA Standalone: Create QA Order article.
Transfers of cured flower, whether tested or untested for extraction use, must still be done as Flower Lots or MJ Mix.
MJ Mix can be sent for mandatory testing, including pesticides.
See the LCB's full regulations on Quality Assurance and Quality Control.
See the LCB's full regulation on Quality Control Sampling.
If you have further questions about interpreting these rules for your business, please reach out to your enforcement officer or email [email protected].