Washington’s Department of Health is proposing mandatory terpene testing for medical-grade marijuana products and substantially stricter contamination limits, including a 90% reduction in the allowable arsenic threshold.
The changes are detailed in a proposed rulemaking filing submitted October 6 and published in the Washington State Register on October 15. The proposal would revise the state’s medical marijuana product standards under Chapter 246-70 of the Washington Administrative Code, establishing additional requirements for products carrying an official medical-grade designation.
Among the most significant changes are new heavy metal limits that would be considerably stricter than Washington’s existing marijuana testing standards. The allowable concentration of arsenic would drop from 2.0 to 0.20 micrograms per gram, while cadmium would fall from 0.82 to 0.20, lead from 1.2 to 0.50, and mercury from 0.40 to 0.10.
Products exceeding the proposed thresholds would fail the medical-grade testing requirements and could not carry the state’s medical-grade designation. The department is also proposing a benzene limit of 1 microgram per gram and a limit of 1,000 colony-forming units per gram for bile-tolerant gram-negative bacteria in unprocessed plant material.
Another major change would make terpene testing mandatory for qualifying medical-grade products. Current regulations do not require terpene analysis, although some producers already conduct it voluntarily.
Under the proposal, marijuana flower would undergo terpene testing whenever cannabinoid concentration testing is required. The requirement would also apply to certain mixed, infused and inhalable products. Laboratories would be required to measure nine specified terpenes when present at concentrations exceeding 500 micrograms per gram, including limonene, myrcene, linalool, caryophyllene and two forms of pinene.
The department’s economic analysis estimates that the additional terpene testing would cost producers and processors approximately $25 to $35 per batch. However, the agency acknowledges that total expenses would vary substantially depending on production volume, batch sizes and whether businesses already test for terpenes.
Laboratories could also face expenses associated with validating their testing methods against the stricter contaminant limits and annually verifying terpene testing procedures. The department determined that the proposal could impose more-than-minor costs on marijuana businesses, with smaller producers and processors potentially experiencing a disproportionate financial impact.
The analysis also acknowledges that some increased expenses could ultimately be passed along to retailers and medical marijuana patients, although the department could not estimate the extent of any resulting price increases.
Beyond testing, the proposal would revise Washington’s medical marijuana product classifications, including substantially changing the requirements for high-CBD products.
Under existing standards, qualifying high-CBD marijuana extracts cannot contain more than 2% THC and must have at least 25 times more CBD than THC. The proposal would raise the allowable THC concentration to 15% while requiring at least five times more CBD than THC.
Medical-grade product labeling would also undergo changes. Labels for marijuana flower and concentrates would need to identify the three most prominent terpenes, while flower labels would include harvest dates and concentrates and infused products would include production dates.
Although Washington already requires marijuana products to provide an internet link or QR code for product information, the proposed regulations would expand the information accessible through those links, including laboratory certificates of analysis and disclosures of pesticides used during production.
The department is also proposing redesigned medical-grade marijuana logos to help patients distinguish qualifying products from other marijuana products. Businesses would be allowed to use existing packaging during a transition period.
The proposed testing and labeling standards would apply to products seeking Washington’s medical-grade classification, rather than automatically imposing the additional requirements on every recreational marijuana product sold in the state.
The Department of Health has scheduled a virtual public hearing for November 10 at 11 a.m. Pacific Time, with written comments accepted through 11:59 p.m. that day. The agency has identified November 17 as its intended adoption date, although the regulations have not yet been finalized.
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