Hawaii lawmakers push to regulate medical marijuana testing

By MARINA STARLEAF RIKER
Associated Press

HONOLULU (AP) - Industry experts say there are a lot of chemicals that could contaminate Hawaii's medical marijuana.

Dispensaries are set to open in Hawaii in July, and state lawmakers are pushing a broad bill to address many of the obstacles the industry is facing. One of the issues is how to regulate marijuana testing.

The proposed Hawaii law would set requirements for testing medical marijuana's potency and would also test for contaminants such as heavy metals, bacteria and pesticides, which industry experts say is necessary to ensure patient safety.

Some other states have had problems when establishing rules on testing, and have dealt with recalls because of contaminations and faced marijuana shortages when crops were lost to pests.