Laboratory Standardization
The issue of lab-to-lab variation has existed in the marijuana industry across the country for some time. To address this issue in Oklahoma, House Bill 4056 was passed in 2022, directing OMMA to work with labs to develop better regulations for testing techniques.
A committee of licensed testing laboratories, including 7 lab directors, met for over 90 hours across 15 meetings to submit 120 pages of recommendations for equipment and testing standards. OMMA staff spent over 100 hours reviewing the submitted recommendations and drafting, reviewing, and editing proposed rules. The updated testing rules were included in OMMA’s proposed permanent rules and received 120 public comments during the agency’s public comment period. OMMA staff meticulously reviewed and individually replied to every comment received and adjusted testing requirements in response.
Based on the committee's recommendations, the new emergency rules effective June 1, 2024, help assure the safety of medical cannabis and medical cannabis products for patients and amend testing requirements in Subchapter 8.
See a copy of OMMA's current rules at omma.ok.gov/rules. Current and past copies of the rules are also in the table at the bottom of the Rulemaking Process page.
Check the rules for all details, but here's a summary of the changes:
- Round robin testing for statistical analysis by OMMA to address any outlier
- More specific requirements for instrumentation
- More specific requirements for calibration and method validation
- More specific requirements for quality control
- More specific requirements for personnel training
