3 AAC 306.645.  Laboratory testing of marijuana and marijuana products.  (a)  A marijuana testing facility shall use the general body of required laboratory tests as set out in this section for marijuana plant material, an extract or concentrate of marijuana, and an edible marijuana products. Required tests may include potency analysis, moisture content, foreign matter inspection, microbial screening, pesticide, other chemical residue, and metals screening, and residual solvents levels.  A marijuana testing facility shall establish a schedule of fees and sample size required for each test it offers.   

            (b)  The tests required for each marijuana type or marijuana product, are as follows:

                        (1)  potency testing is required on marijuana bud and flower, marijuana  concentrate, and a marijuana product, as follows:

                        (A)  the required cannabinoid potency test must at least determine the concentration of THC, THCA, CBD, CBDA and CBN cannabinoids; a marijuana testing facility may test and report results for any additional cannabinoid if the test is conducted in compliance with a validated method;

                        (B)  a marijuana testing facility shall report potency test results as follows:

                        (i)  for a potency test on marijuana and marijuana concentrate, marijuana testing facility shall list for each required cannabinoid a single percentage concentration that represents an average of all samples within the test batch; alternatively, the sum of THC and THCA may be reported as total THC; the sum of CBD and CBDA may be reported as total CBD;

                        (ii)  for a potency test on a marijuana product, whether conducted on each individual production lot or using process validation, marijuana testing facility shall list for each cannabinoid the total number of milligrams contained within a single retail marijuana product unit for sale; 

                        (iii)  for testing whether the THC content is homogenous, the marijuana testing facility shall report the THC content of each single serving in a multi-unit package; the reported content must be within 20 percent of the manufacturer’s target; for example, in a 25 milligrams total THC package with five servings, each serving must contain between four and six milligrams of THC;

                        (C)  thee marijuana testing facility shall determine an edible marijuana product to have failed potency testing if

                         (i)  an individually packaged edible retail marijuana product contained within a test lot is determined to have more than [50] 60 milligrams of THC within it; or

                        (ii)  the THC content of an edible marijuana product is not homogenous;

                        (2)  microbial testing for the listed substances on the listed marijuana products is required as follows:

                        (3) testing for the listed residual solvents and metals on the listed marijuana products is required as follows:

3 AAC 306.660.  Failed materials, retests.  (a)  If a sample tested by a marijuana testing facility does not pass the required tests based on the standards set out in 3 AAC 306.645, including a visual foreign matter inspection, the marijuana establishment that provided the sample shall

                        (1)  dispose of the entire harvest batch or production lot from which the sample was taken; and

                        (2)  document the disposal of the sample using the marijuana establishment’s marijuana inventory tracking system.

            (b)  If a sample of marijuana fails a required test, any marijuana plant trim, leaf, and other usable material from the same plants automatically fail the required test.  The board or Director may approve a request to allow a batch of marijuana that fails a required test to be used to make a carbon dioxide or solvent-based extract.  After processing, the carbon dioxide or solvent-based extract must pass all required tests.

            (c)  If a marijuana cultivation facility or a marijuana product manufacturing facility petitions for a retest of marijuana or a marijuana product that failed a required test, the board or Director may authorize a retest to validate the test results.  The marijuana cultivation facility or a marijuana product manufacturing facility shall pay all costs of a retest.
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The Marijuana Control Board proposes to adopt regulations in Title 3 of the Alaska Administrative Code, dealing with standards and requirements for marijuana testing facilities, including the following:

(1)        3 AAC 306.645(b)(1)(C)(i) – Marijuana testing tolerances for potency testing are proposed to be changed as they apply to the THC content of edible marijuana products.

(2)        3 AAC 306.645(b)(3) – Marijuana testing tolerances for residual solvents are proposed to be changed as they apply to the acceptable limit for benzene residual solvents.

(3)        3 AAC 306.660(a) and (c) – Failed materials and retests requirements are proposed to be changed as by including a visual foreign matter inspection failure and by giving the director, in addition to the board, the authority to authorize retesting and to approve use of marijuana that fails a required test in an extract.

You may comment in writing on the proposed regulations, including the potential costs to private persons of complying with the proposed regulations, by submitting written comments to Cynthia Franklin, Marijuana Control Board at 550 W. 7^th Ave, Suite 1600, Anchorage, AK 99501. Additionally, the Marijuana Control Board will accept written comments by electronic mail at marijuana@alaska.gov. Please notate “Comment on Testing Regulations” on the subject line of any emailed comment. Written comments may also be submitted through the Alaska Online Public Notice System, by accessing this notice on the system and using the "comment" link. Please indicate the article and section number to which each comment refers, if applicable. Please indicate in the subject line “Comment on testing regulations”. All written comments must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. on January 13, 2017.

You may submit written questions relevant to the proposed regulations by email to marijuana@alaska.gov or to Cynthia Franklin at the above physical address. Please do not submit questions through the Alaska Online Public Notice System. The written questions must be received at least 10 days before the end of the public comment period, by January 3, 2017 at 4:30 p.m. The Marijuana Control Board will aggregate its response to substantially similar written questions and make the questions and response available on the Marijuana Control Board website. The Marijuana Control Board may, but is not required to, answer written questions received after the 10-day cut-off date and before the end of the comment period.

If you are a person with a disability who needs a special accommodation in order to participate in this process, please contact Craig Douglas at (907) 269-0350 no later than January 3, 2017 to ensure that any necessary accommodations can be provided.

A copy of the proposed regulations are available through the electronic link to the complete text on the Alaska Online Public Notice System, on the Marijuana Control Board website at https://www.commerce.alaska.gov/web/amco/ or by contacting Craig Douglas at craig.douglas@alaska.gov or 550 W. 7^th Ste 1600, Anchorage, AK 99501.

After the written public comment period ends, the Marijuana Control Board will either adopt the proposed regulations or other provisions dealing with the same subject, without further notice, or decide to take no action. The language of the final regulations may be different from that of the proposed regulations. You should comment in writing during the time allowed if your interests could be affected. No verbal public comment will be taken on the proposed changes.