Please consume responsibly. This section is for adults 21 and older. Adult-use cannabis is legal in Massachusetts for adults 21 and older, and it is illegal to consume it in public places, including bars, streets, parks and in cars. Keep all cannabis products locked up and out of reach of children and pets. Do not drive after using cannabis, and do not combine it with alcohol. This is general information, not medical or legal advice.
A certificate of analysis (COA) is the lab report for one batch of a licensed product. Match the batch number on the package to the one on the report, check the date, and you have read it correctly. It records what the lab measured and nothing about how you will feel.
You can ask for it
Product tested at a licensed lab generates a COA, according to the state's labels page. The same page says shoppers can request one for anything on the shelf.
So ask the counter, or look on the brand's site.
The Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) goes further and says a retail product has to pass current tests before it can be sold.
Start with the package
The label is your way into the report. State rules call for a batch number, serial number and bar code on the package.
They also call for a statement and seal showing the product was tested for contaminants.
Find the batch number first. If it does not match the report in your hand, that report belongs to some other batch and tells you nothing.
What is on the report
The regulation sends marijuana to the lab for the cannabinoid profile and contaminants. The contaminant list runs through mildew, mold, metals, growth regulators and pesticides.
In practice you will see four things:
- Product and batch. Names and numbers to match against your package.
- Cannabinoid results. THC and the other cannabinoids, to compare with the label.
- Contaminant results. Mostly pass or fail, one line per category.
- Lab and date. Who tested it and when.
Edibles need one extra step. The label has to give total active THC in milligrams, so divide by the number of servings to see what one serving holds.
Vapes get an added screen, heavy metals and Vitamin E acetate.
Read the date
Results stay good for one year. After that, the rule is that product with older testing dates is deemed expired and cannot be sold until retested.
That "expired" is about the test, not the product. The CCC says products sold after it were not "expired" the way other goods can be, so do not read the date as a freshness stamp. It says how recent the test is.
What it cannot tell you
A COA measures one batch on one day. It cannot predict your night, which is why labels carry a warning against driving or operating machinery while under the influence.
Edible labels add a second one: effects can come two hours or more late. Wait it out before taking more.
If a product worries you, the CCC keeps a page of public health and safety advisories for contaminated or possibly contaminated products. It urges consumers to check the labels of anything they already have.
Use at home only, and never drive afterward.
- https://moreaboutmj.org/marijuana-101/understanding-labels/
- https://masscannabiscontrol.com/faqs/
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/935-CMR-500-105
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/935-CMR-500-160
- https://www.law.cornell.edu/regulations/massachusetts/935-CMR-500-150
- https://masscannabiscontrol.com/news/public-health-and-safety-advisories/