Pubdate: Sun, 09 Mar 2014
Source: Denver Post (CO)
Copyright: 2014 The Denver Post Corp
Contact:  http://www.denverpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/122
Author: Ricardo Baca

LABELS FUDGE THC LEVELS

With No Standard for Testing, Buyers Can't Trust Items' Potency.

As one of the largest producers of marijuana-infused edibles in 
Colorado, Dr. J's Hash Infusion makes chocolates, caramels and 
candies. But many of the company's products contain only a minute 
fraction of the THC promised on Dr. J's labels, according to 
independent tests organized by The Denver Post.

One Dr. J's milk chocolate Star Barz labeled for 100 milligrams of 
THC had 0.37 milligrams of the valued psychoactive component, 
according to three tests conducted by Steep Hill Halent of Colorado, 
a state-licensed marijuana testing facility. Another popular Dr. J's 
chocolate bar, the 100-milligram Winter Mint flavor, tested similarly 
in two experiments, showing 0.28 milligrams of THC.

"They need to work on their process," said Joseph Evans, laboratory 
director at Steep Hill Halent. "I don't know that it's irresponsible, 
but it's nonprofessional."

The evolving marijuana industry is still finding its way in Colorado, 
and one of the evolving aspects is the testing - or lack thereof-of 
products. The state's Marijuana Enforcement Division enacted new 
regulations last week, and more changes are to come in May, July and October.

But as the marijuana industry looks ahead to the potential of 
regular, mandatory testing, Dr. J's problem seems deeper than a bad 
batch or two. The two bars that both tested for less than a half 
milligram of THC were purchased two months and 40 miles apart from 
each other, and they were separated by 282 batches - or roughly 70,000 units.

"I would be in shock (if those tests were accurate)," said Dr. J's 
CEO Tom Sterlacci."We're one of the top businesses in Colorado. I 
wouldn't be in business this long if we weren't doing things right 99 
percent of the time."

Enter enforcement agency

Hundreds of customers have complained about Dr. J's products. At 
least three recreational pot shops dropped the brand entirely; others 
said they won't carry them. And the grousing has the attention of the 
Marijuana Enforcement Division.

An independent Post study of several products showed that THC levels 
in edibles are never exactly what the package reads. Mile High 
Candy's watermelon drops are labeled at 100 milligrams of THC but 
actually contained 17. Incredibles' Mile High Mint chocolate bar 
advertises 100 milligrams of THCbut instead included 146. The Growing 
Kitchen's chocolate chunk cookie tested at 101 milligrams on a 
product labeled for 100.

Colorado marijuana industry leader Dixie Elixirs tested at 60 
milligrams of THC with its Dixie Rolls in The Post's study, which are 
labeled at 100 milligrams.

"While we are disappointed to learn of The Post's test results, we 
also know that testing can vary significantly from one lab to the 
next," Dixie Elixirs CMO Joe Hodas said. "Regardless, we will 
continue to focus on our quality control to be sure all of our 
products, from edibles to tinctures and topicals, reflect the 
agreed-upon milligrams of THC."

But of the 10 edibles tested in the exclusive Post report, no edible 
had the THC-level problems of Dr. J's, Evans said.

"You're talking less than a milligram of THC in a product that says 
100," Evans said. "If people have no confidence in this industry, 
then there could be a sort of backlash against the whole legal 
marijuana movement."

How can these numbers be so disparate? While there's been much 
discussion over testing guidelines, it's still a voluntary action for 
the growers and makers of marijuana infused products, or MIPs.

"Right now testing the product is permissive," said Colorado 
Department of Revenue communications director Daria Serna. "Starting 
in May 2014, it could become mandatory for MIPs to test every 
production batch of edibles for potency.

"Potency testing measures the value of THC in a product, and it also 
determines if the THC is homogenized in the product."

The MED investigates complaints, but until testing regulations become 
firmly standardized, a complaint like this would be addressed as "an 
advertising violation," said Serna, "because the product packaging 
would be inaccurate with a label that read it contained 100 milligrams of THC."

Just how popular are edibles? ArcView Market Research estimates that 
infused products make up 21 percent of total sales in Colorado, 
compared with cannabis flower's 62 percent and concentrates' 17 
percent. But Dixie Elixirs' Hodas estimates that number has grown 
since recreational sales opened Jan. 1.

"The number we've used is 40 percent of transactions are infused 
products," said Hodas, who said his estimation is unscientific and 
based on anecdotal feedback from dispensary owners and colleagues. 
"Between December and January, we saw a five-times increase in our 
sales numbers. So it sounds right to us."

BotanaCare owner Robin Hackett knew something was off at her 
Northglenn recreational pot shop when her customers started calling, 
reaching out on social media and coming into the store with 
complaints- all about Dr. J's products, Hackett said. As of last 
week, Hackett had received nearly 450 individual complaints, she said.

"People kept coming in saying, 'I ate 100 milligrams... 150... 200... 
300 ... and I didn't feel anything.' And you don't eat 200 milligrams 
of activated THC and not feel anything," said Hackett, who has sold 
15,000 Dr. J's edibles since Jan. 1. "Then somebody brought one back 
unopened, and I had it tested. There was nothing in there. No (THC) 
at all. The lab confirmed that Dr. J's is selling chocolate. He duped 
me and every patient who bought one."

"I called Dr. J's and said, 'You guys are ripping people off,' " she said.

Hackett said she spoke with two Dr. J's reps in the past month - and 
she reached out to other Colorado pot shops to see if they shared her 
concerns with the company's products. Dr. J's CEO Sterlacci said he'd 
first heard of Hackett's bad experience on Thursday when he called 
her to discuss the matter- after his colleague sent a letter to 
Hackett threatening legal action.

"If she got a bad batch, she got a bad batch. It happens," said 
Sterlacci, who said his batches yield 200-300 units each and that Dr. 
J's makes about 30,000-45,000 units per month. "We don't test every 
batch, because we're still doing small enough batches that that would 
be economically unfeasible at this point. But we test every week or 
10 days. We have a commitment to the MED to keep our product at that 
100-milligram mark."

Upon learning about The Post's study, which showed one Dr. J's 
product having less than one-300th the THC it should have had, 
Sterlacci at first questioned the testing process and Steep Hill 
Halent, which is one of only three state-licensed marijuana testing labs

"I have literally taken our hash, broken it up into two pieces, given 
it to different testing labs and they've been off by 50 percent," 
Sterlacci said. "It comes down to standards. This is a perfect 
example of the need for the MED to get standard procedures."

But he later admitted to a problem with Dr. J's recipe, something his 
staff discovered a week ago-nearly two months after increasing their 
batch size by five to 10 times to accommodate the significantly 
larger recreational market and orders that were 20-30 times their regular size.

"We were making smaller batches prior to recreational, but the demand 
went so high that we are now making bigger batches," Sterlacci said. 
"Because our hash is cold-water extracted, it's particalized. It's 
not an oil like butane or CO2. So if you have the medicine sitting, 
the particles could fall to the bottom. So somebody could get a 
high-potency product and somebody could get a low-potency product.

"We changed the recipe in the last week or 10 days. (Hackett) might 
have gotten it before we realized there was a problem."

Dr. J's is now offering refunds on a case-by-case basis to shops if 
packages are unopened.

Evans said the quality of marijuana testing in Colorado is 
significantly better now than it was a year ago. But until testing 
regulations are more stringent, he recommends consumers not put too 
much faith on the number on a package.

"A lot of confidence isn't present on the number printed on the 
packages," said Evans, who has been practicing environmental 
chemistry for 25 years. "This shows the importance of testing. I'm 
amazed that people are out there consuming these products based on 
the numbers that are printed on the package. It says it has 200 
milligrams, but that number is based on what?"

A medical case study

Forty-five-year-old disabled customer Shaan Allen had never tried 
edibles before Jan. 1, when he started visiting BotanaCare to see if 
marijuana could help his restless legs syndrome. After working 
through 30 to 40 Dr. J's items - about 95 percent of which didn't 
provide the results he expected-he started reconsidering his 
experiment with pot.

"I just thought, 'That's what edibles do to you,' " said Allen, who 
lives in Arvada. "I went back (to BotanaCare) and they said, 'No, 
let's try something else out.' I bought one of their newedibles to 
see how it worked, and I was taking the same amount of milligrams and 
was like, ' Whoa, this is what it's supposed to do?' "

Some in the industry are concerned about customers relying too much 
on labels when they try different brands of edibles.

It's certainly important to customers like Allen.

"I feel like I got ripped off," said Allen, who is currently using 
edibles made by Edi-Pure, which tested for 45 milligrams of THC on a 
product labeled for 100 in The Post study. "If you're selling a 
Twinkie, make sure it tastes like a Twinkie. If you're selling pot, 
make sure it gets you high."

Some dispensaries had similar experiences to BotanaCare. Mile High 
Medical Cannabis got about 10 complaints on Dr. J's edibles, and the 
shop, situated across Federal Boulevard from Sports Authority Field 
at Mile High, was selling off its stock of Dr. J's at a discounted 
price of $9 last week before pulling them entirely.

"You want to trust the companies you're dealing with," said Mile High 
manager Nichole West.

Serene Wellness owner Dan Volpe stopped carrying Dr. J's at his 
Empire dispensary in 2012 after customers complained that "their 
dosing was less effective than other companies." But as Volpe began 
the switch at hisU.S. 40 mountain shop from medical to recreational, 
he considered giving Dr. J's another try.

"They were one of the first people to get their recreational license, 
so we didn't have a ton of choices at that time for vendors," Volpe 
said. "They said they'd improved their recipe and had a new sales 
rep, and I was ready to give them another chance."

After 20 complaints-"Dr. J's is the only one I've ever gotten a 
complaint on" - Volpe canceled his next $3,000 order and began 
working with other edibles companies such as Incredibles, whose 
100-milligram Mile High Mint chocolate bar (a direct competitor to 
Dr. J's Winter Mint bar) tested for 146 milligrams of THC in The Post's study.

Other dispensaries have had no complaints with Dr. J's.

"There were some little inconsistencies, but that's with any edible 
company," said Alex Arguello, owner of Colorado Wellness on South 
Broadway, which sells Dr. J's for $12. "Overall, I think they did a fine job."

At central Denver's Herbs 4 You, which made its switch to 
recreational in late February, Dr. J's is the only brand of edibles 
on the counter. The Dr. J's display is even marked with a "Special!" 
sign exclaiming their $7 price tag - a competitive price even for a 
medical edible.

"Dr. J's has worked great for us," said Herbs 4 You manager Roman 
Tsyporyn. "We make money, and people are happy with it."

In Northglenn, business is booming at BotanaCare. But even with a 
steady stream of customers, co-owner Hackett is still concerned about 
her customers' and her own experiences with Dr. J's.

"I'm a new business," she said. "I'm establishing a new clientele. 
And even though I've been medical here for years, I'm now 
recreational, and I'm trying to develop a new base of customers. And 
right out of the chute I'm making people unhappy?

"All these people, they spent a lot of money for just chocolate. I 
don't blame them for being irate."
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom