BRANDON, S.D. (KELO) — Long before a patient buys medical marijuana at a South Dakota dispensary, that product has to pass a thorough lab test before it’s deemed safe. State-licensed inspectors play a key role in that process.
Jared Nieuwenhuis is collecting samples of medical marijuana grown at the Brandon-based Shangri-La South Dakota Cultivation and Dispensaries.
“When we take a sample, we break it down, we homogenize it, we pull everything together and then split it out into multiple sub-samples,” Nieuwenhuis said.
Nieuwenhuis is the co-owner Cannabis Chem Lab out of Flandreau. The samples are examined to detect any potential contaminants, including bacteria and molds that could harm already vulnerable customers.
“A lot of people that do qualify for a medical cannabis card have pre-existing conditions that make them more susceptible to things like a pneumonia caused by aspergillus inhalation,” Nieuwenhuis said.
Medical cannabis growers say the inspection process is far from a rubber-stamp procedure.
“About a third of the product is getting screened out before it can get to a dispensary. So if you think about that, out of a hundred pounds, you might have 30-pounds that doesn’t go to a dispensary for consumer sales,” Shangri-La South Dakota Cultivation & Dispensaries CEO T.J. Cameron said.
Cameron says if just one of among the dozen of contaminants tested shows up in a sample, that cannabis cannot be sold. He says the close scrutiny provided by the inspection process provides his customers with the peace of mind that the product they’re purchasing is safe.
Nieuwenhuis says a quick turnaround time to get lab results back quickly is becoming crucial to an industry where more and more facilities are opening up in South Dakota.
H/T: www.keloland.com
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