Pubdate: Sat, 03 May 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Eric Gorski
Page: 1A

A DIFFICULT TEST

Individuals No Longer Able to Have Labs Examine Their Goods

The kitchen of Brian and Meghan Wilson's rental home in Denver's 
Washington Park neighborhood looked like a chemistry lab. Using 
beakers, glass dishes and a botanical extractor, the couple coaxed 
oil from dispensary-bought marijuana plants, desperate to control the 
epileptic seizures of their 3-year-old daughter, Vivian.

Before giving it to the little girl, who likes to draw on an easel 
and play with her toothbrush, the Wilsons took their homemade oil to 
a Denver marijuana testing lab to make sure the dosage was correct.

All of that stopped after state regulators began informing marijuana 
testing labs that as a condition of holding a state license to test, 
they may only accept samples from licensed recreational pot shops, 
infused-product manufacturers and medical marijuana dispensaries.

The rule is part of a broader effort to account for every ounce of 
marijuana flowing through Colorado's highly regulated industry.

But it also means those labs, some of which had been operating for 
years before being licensed, can no longer test for individuals.

That leaves curious consumers, hemp growers and anyone who makes 
their own oils, edibles and tinctures with little recourse.

It means licensed labs cannot test for caregivers treating cancer 
patients or parents such as the Wilsons who have flocked to Colorado 
to obtain medical marijuana for their gravely ill children.

"This was one of the reasons we moved here - not only access to 
medicine but access to labs," said Brian Wilson, who uprooted his 
family this spring from New Jersey, where he helped reform the 
state's medical marijuana laws. "This is a major concern for parents."

The Wilsons, for now, are not at risk. Vivian has access to oils from 
a Colorado Spring dispensary that has received international 
attention for a strain called Charlotte's Web. The oil is rich in 
cannabidiol, or CBD, but low in THC, marijuana's main mind-altering chemical.

Still, Brian Wilson said he previously made about half of his 
daughter's medicine and considers it a safety net in case other 
sources run out. Some parents, he said, are experimenting with their 
own oils while on a waiting list for Charlotte's Web, which its 
creators say is tested for dosage, molds, pesticides and solvents.

Minors are eligible for a Colorado medical marijuana card if two 
physicians sign off on it. As of Feb. 28, there were 248 medical 
marijuana patients under age 18 in Colorado, up from 39 a year earlier.

Vivian, like other young medical marijuana refugees to Colorado, has 
Dravet syndrome, a rare genetic disorder typically untreatable by 
anti-epileptic drugs. She began suffering massive seizures at 2 months old.

She wears an eye patch over her left eye to control her sensitivity 
to patterns, eats a diet high in fat and protein, and ingests cannabis.

"There is no prescribed solution yet," her father said. "Even for the 
kids having a lot of success, they are all on different stuff. You 
need that ability to find out what's going to work."

Unregulated and unlicensed labs have offered testing on medical 
marijuana in Colorado for years. But testing was always voluntary.

The state began licensing labs to carry out mandatory testing of 
recreational marijuana, legalized by the passage of Amendment 64 in 
November 2012. The testing, which will be rolled out in phases over 
the next few months, began Thursday with the testing of edibles for potency.

So far, the state has licensed seven labs. State officials informed 
some of them of the prohibition on testing for individuals in March.

A provision in state rules allows labs to also test for medical 
marijuana businesses, but testing continues to be voluntary for dispensaries.

The state Marijuana Enforcement Division requires licensed labs to 
track all samples through the state's inventory tracking system, 
which all licensed marijuana businesses must use. Because of that, 
individuals are effectively blocked from going to labs, the state says.

Medical marijuana patients, then, cannot test their own 
dispensary-bought marijuana - a valued option for some because there 
is no state rule mandating that the products be tested.

Division director Lewis Koski said "product accountability" is a 
cornerstone of regulation. Anything that fails a test at a licensed 
lab is flagged so it cannot enter the marketplace, which would be 
impossible with marijuana outside the tracking system, he said.

"It's very important from a regulatory perspective that you put 
guardrails up," Koski said, adding that the issue was discussed at 
length in public forums during the rulemaking process.

Jeannine Machon, co-owner of CMT Laboratories in Denver, said she 
understands the state's rationale. And some caregivers - individuals 
who grow medical marijuana for others - game the system and get 
doctor's recommendations for high plant counts, allowing them to grow 
huge volumes, she said.

But others are looking out for their patients, she said.

"Honest to God, I think it's sad," Machon said. "The MED is in a 
horrible spot, knowing the country has its eyes on us."

The restrictions are being felt by caregivers such as Ryan Rice, who 
takes medical marijuana for his multiple sclerosis, and grows 
marijuana plants and makes an oil his patients use to treat cancer.

Until the prohibition, he said he took his marijuana concentrates to 
be tested for cannabinoid profile and residuals such as butane, which 
is used in an extraction method. He said he grows organically, but 
the test results give patients peace of mind that he is not using pesticides.

"It's ridiculous," Rice said. "I've got to be able to test those 
plants and know that my patients are getting the right medicine."

State officials should have little to fear from labs, which take in 
small amounts of marijuana and destroy it all, said Ian Barringer, 
founder of Rm3 Labs in Boulder, which opened in 2009 and is seeking a 
state license.

Unlicensed labs are an option for patients and caregivers. But 
Barringer suggested that running such a lab would be cost-prohibitive 
and risky because of the lack of legal cover a state license brings.

"It's not a matter of profit for us," he said of testing for 
individuals. "It's not a big part of our business. But it's an 
important part of our business."
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom