Marijuana testing oversight would enhance under bill that passed Pa. House

May 22—HARRISBURG — Members of the Pennsylvania House overwhelmingly voted Tuesday to strengthen oversight of independent laboratories that test the commonwealth's supply of medical marijuana.

State representatives voted 196-6 to pass House Bill 2208 on to the Senate for further consideration.

Introduced by Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Allegheny, chair of the House Health Committee, the bill would amend the Medical Marijuana Act to allow the Department of Health to verify testing protocol and results.

The law currently requires independent lab testing at harvest and processing points along with stability testing of potency and purity from a harvest batch at six-month intervals for the duration of a product's expiration date.

The bill would require the designated testing lab to provide access to the Department of Health to the standards and results of testing on compliance, stability, research and development, audit and quality assurance.

The department also would be empowered to conduct lab inspections, both announced and unannounced, and may establish a state lab for audit testing of samples, quality assurance and more.

A fiscal analysis anticipates the proposed law would require an additional $1.2 million in spending on oversight including two additional full-time staffers. Some revenue is anticipated from application and registration fees, $250 and $125, respectively, but the potential total offset isn't yet known. Such revenue will depend on the number of independent labs that apply for the program.

The House and Senate have held multiple committee hearings this legislative session around marijuana, largely about the potential to legalize it for adult recreational use.

Frankel and his Republican counterpart in the Health Committee's leadership, minority chair Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren/Crawford/Forest, each said opinions from multiple sides of conversations around marijuana, medical or recreational, all agree that greater government oversight of lab testing is needed.

Citing hearing testimony, Frankel said the committee learned of the potential presence of pesticides, mold and heavy metals in some batches of marijuana.

Uniform testing standards are pending a shift by the federal government in its stance on marijuana. The Department of Justice has submitted a proposed regulation to reclassify marijuana from Schedule I — which includes heroin and LSD — to the Schedule III list of drugs under the Controlled Substance Act. It wouldn't legalize the substance but could allow for eased access for research into its potential benefits and dangers.

Schedule III drugs are considered moderate to low risk and have some potential medical value. The list includes Tylenol with codeine and testosterone.

"At every hearing, the need for lab oversight was flagged. We heard accounts of products that were audited in other states and found to contain dangerous substances. And, we heard accounts of products with significantly inflated THC levels," Frankel said from the floor prior to Tuesday's vote.

Rapp expressed full support for the proposal. She read directly from Frankel's co-sponsorship memo while lending her support ahead of the floor vote: "When Pennsylvanians use medical marijuana, they should be able to trust that the product they are consuming is safe and accurately represented. Patients should feel confident that they aren't being exposed to chemicals or mold, and that THC levels are appropriate."