Seven Nevada cannabis testing labs warn proposed sampling rules could let contaminated flower pass testing

Seven Nevada cannabis testing laboratories have warned state regulators that proposed sampling rules could allow contaminated marijuana to pass laboratory testing. The Coalition of Nevada Cannabis Independent Testing Laboratories set out its concerns in an eight-page position paper dated Oct. 2 and submitted for the Nevada Cannabis Compliance Board's Oct. 15 hearing on proposed regulation R104-26. The board posted the paper with the meeting's public comment, and The Marijuana Herald reported on it Oct. 16.

The proposed regulation implements Senate Bill 157 of 2025, which raised the maximum marijuana flower lot from five pounds to 15 pounds. It calls for a minimum 60-gram sample, split into three 20-gram portions for testing, retesting and retention. The labs (374 Labs, G3 Labs, MA and Associates, ERP, NV Cann Labs, RSR Analytical Laboratories and Digipath Labs) say they support that amount but want the entire 60 grams ground and mixed before it is divided. Otherwise, they argue, the tested portion represents 0.29% of a 15-pound lot rather than 0.88%. The paper cites the coalition's statistical analysis finding that at 0.29% coverage, Aspergillus mold present at 3% prevalence would go undetected 91% of the time.

The labs also object to a provision that would let the cultivation facility decide whether the unused retest and retention portions of a passing sample are returned or destroyed. They want labs to hold those portions for at least 30 days, and longer while any retest, complaint or investigation is pending. If the board doesn't make the changes, the coalition asks for a disclaimer on certificates of analysis and product labels saying the sample may not represent the whole lot.

The paper points to a 2025 board public health and safety bulletin on flower and pre-rolls that failed microbial testing after sale. Hemp Law Watch has not confirmed what action, if any, the board took on the regulation at the Oct. 15 meeting.