Marijuana products in Minnesota will now be able to be tested for legal or illegal status. Part of the lab’s job is to distinguish hemp and CBD from marijuana products. CBD is becoming more available at retailers across the state and regulators continue to question the legality of some products.
Some officials believe that testing products will help with proper regulatory oversite and industry framework, the Star Tribune reported. Labs still struggle to appropriately test marijuana and hemp to determine which products are legal since both plants contain THC – just in different concentrations. New testing procedures will be able to determine the concentration of THC in samples.
Forensic Scientist Amanda Vukich said, “Since hemp and marijuana are essentially the same plant, they could yield the same [test] results. We weren’t able to distinguish between the two of them.”
The new testing process will help legal CBD products remain on store shelves where customers are used to purchasing it.