Marijuana Control board warns of 'inconsistent' marijuana testing results

Inconsistent and potentially inaccurate results have been found between Alaska's two licensed marijuana testing facilities, said the Marijuana Control Board and the Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office (AMCO).

State officials say marijuana samples were given to CannTest and Steep Hill for testing.

AMCO said the two licensed testing facilities reported significantly different levels of THC from samples of the same edible product. One testing facility found a potentially dangerous mold on a product but the other testing facility failed to detect it.

"The lowest I think is about a 34 percent difference, and the highest is about a 77 percent difference in the two samples," Peter Mlynarik, AMCO Chair said.

"Are these test results accurate in any fashion? We don't know," Mlynarik said.

"There are no Alaska standards on how you should test these different products. It's really not that unexpected that the numbers would be different," said Dr. Jonathan Rupp, the scientific director at CannTest.

Rupp said he feels great about his numbers regarding the THC potency levels.

Dr. Tim Hinterberger, Steep Hill Alaska Scientific Director said he knows their procedure and potency numbers are accurate.

"We have very high confidence in our number our procedure and our methods are not just something they made up here. They come from the largest most respected test lab in California," Hinterberger said.

For now, the board is urging consumers to use caution when consuming marijuana. They say users should inspect products, consume the appropriate serving size, and heed warnings that are on every package.

The Marijuana Control Board says it is investigating these inconsistencies and plan on having a committee to help solve this problem, including seeking help a professor of chemistry from University of Alaska Fairbanks.