MCR Labs, a cannabis testing company in Framingham, received 38% more samples in the 2020 calendar year than the year prior, according to new data released by the company, which says it works with 95% cannabis providers, growers and producers in the state.
Notably, edibles saw the greatest year-to-year sample submissions increase, with MCR Labs reporting 78% more in 2020 than 2019, which is largely in line with industry trends indicating growing edibles popularity. Cannabis flower samples, by comparison, increased 28%; vaporizer devices increased 22%.
“Looking at trends year over year, like the volume of samples we tested or what we’re testing more of, is a really unique way to explore changes beyond how many licenses were approved or how many units were sold,” said Michael Kahn, MCR Labs’ president and founder, in a statement. “2020’s stats are especially interesting because of how COVID affected the industry’s progress.”
In total, the pass rate on all products submitted to MCR Labs in 2020 was 91.2%, which the company said was slightly higher than the pass rate in 2019, but still consistent with pass rates in years prior.
“It’s really significant that in a year where more licenses were approved and more new producers entered the market than years prior, products are still passing the state’s strict testing requirements at about the same rate,” said Jonathan Wani, MCR Labs’ director of business development, in a statement.
Wani said such figures indicated that cannabis companies know what they are doing when it comes to regulatory compliance, which only serves to further bolster industry credibility.
Sample submissions did decrease by 35.5% between January and April of 2020, however, which MCR Labs attributed to Gov. Charlie Baker ordering a mandatory temporary shutdown of adult-use cannabis establishments, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
