The CEO of a cannabis testing company with a lab in Michigan said substances that could be harmful to consumers have been found in cannabis oil used in edibles and vape pens and is calling out marijuana companies for not disclosing they are using them.
Josh Swider, cofounder and CEO of Infinite Chemical Analysis Lab, which has facilities in Jackson and also in San Diego, said more than 30% of marijuana vape pens and edibles his lab recently tested contained a diluting agent; a synthetically converted cannabis oil; or pesticides, some of which are not allowed by the state. He also said the brands haven’t disclosed that the substances are in their products.
"If someone told me (that) I’m smoking cannabis product that’s purely extracted from safe marijuana in Michigan, good. I trust that," Swider said in a March interview with the Detroit Free Press. Infinite Chemical Analysis Labs owner and CEO Josh Swider stands outside of the laboratory in Jackson on Wednesday, April 10, 2024. "If you told me, ‘Hey, if you go into a marijuana store in the state of Michigan, you have a 33% chance of smoking conversion that’s synthetically produced’ … I would want to know that," he said, referring to oil that’s synthetically converted into THC — the oil that produces the "high" feeling.
Testing for the diluting agent, which is known as MCT (medium chain triglycerides) oil, and the converted oil are outside of the scope of what marijuana laboratories in Michigan typically do. A group concerned about cannabis safety in Michigan, which Swider declined to name, asked him to develop tests to see whether products the group obtained had the substances in them. Swider shared the results with the Detroit Free Press because he said he also is personally concerned about the safety of marijuana products and wants the public to be aware.
If companies use MCT oil in Michigan, which is derived from coconut oil, it needs to be disclosed and then approved by Michigan’s Cannabis Regulatory Agency, he said. MCT oil is banned in marijuana products intended for inhalation in some states, like Colorado […]
Michigan cannabis lab CEO says hidden substances could taint vape pens, edibles
