If anyone had forgotten about the “Vitamin E Acetate” related deaths a few years ago, this should be a jarring reminder that California still has a long way to go to protect consumers' health. As cannabis prices continue to slump and operators struggle to stay in business, we fear there will be more sad headlines like this one.  

As we're seeing with Catalyst's recent announcement that it will begin randomly testing products on its shelves, voluntary compliance costs to ensure consumers receive safe products could further increase operating expenses and squeeze operators' bottom line. The flourishing black and gray markets, given legal operators' challenges staying in business, only make matters worse.

Hopefully, the Department of Cannabis Control will seize the moment to expand testing requirements for harmful pesticides and provide some tax relief to ease the associated cost burden on operators. It may also be time to start questioning the value of burdensome seed-to-sale tracking requirements if licensed operators and regulators still cannot identify the sources of contamination. As price crashes in the wholesale market have resulted in legacy organic farms shuttering, it may be time for the industry as a whole to reconsider the high cost of low prices. Creative regulatory solutions, such as easing direct-to-consumer restrictions for legacy organic farms, could also create new pathways to get reliably pesticide-free products to consumers.