Mississippi’s medical marijuana industry is set to have just one testing company after the state’s two remaining laboratories announced plans to combine operations.
Steep Hill Mississippi and Alchemy Analytics will merge under a newly created company called Southern Precision Analytics, according to the Magnolia Tribune. The merger comes as participation in Mississippi’s medical marijuana program remains well below projections made when the market launched.
Seven marijuana testing laboratories were initially licensed when sales began in 2023. Steep Hill and Alchemy Analytics are the only two that remain in operation. Following the merger, Southern Precision Analytics will oversee both existing laboratory locations. The facilities themselves will remain open, with their current employees and testing procedures remaining in place.
The companies will instead consolidate administrative and back-office operations in an effort to reduce costs. Allen Whitt, currently CEO of Steep Hill Mississippi, will lead Southern Precision Analytics.
Whitt said combining the companies’ administrative functions will allow the laboratories to continue providing testing services while reducing expenses that have become difficult to sustain under current market conditions.
“Without this restructuring, neither lab would have the operational scale necessary to remain viable in this market,” Whitt said.
Mississippi requires marijuana products to undergo laboratory testing before they can be sold by licensed dispensaries. Required testing includes checks for potency, pesticides, microbial contaminants, heavy metals, mycotoxins and residual solvents.
Despite operating under a single company following the merger, Mississippi will continue to have two physical marijuana testing laboratories.
Southern Precision Analytics will become the only company providing those testing services statewide.
Sponsors:
