Oregon requires testing for marijuana and marijuana products before they are released for public consumption. Testing of marijuana items helps to ascertain that the products released are safe for human consumption. It also helps to make the consumer know the potency of the product they are about to consume. Testing helps marijuana and marijuana product manufacturers to keep critical data of their products and ensure the consistency of the concentration of their products.
Chapter 333-007-0300 of the Public Health Division-Oregon Health Authority rules mandates that marijuana and marijuana products be tested. The division makes it compulsory in order to establish a minimum compliance testing standard for all marijuana items made available for public consumption in the state. These rules set by the Oregon Public Health Division apply to holders of:
The rules also apply to marijuana registrants. The marijuana testing by rules in Oregon do not apply to the following:
The Oregon marijuana testing rules further provide that registered patients, caregivers, and marijuana grow sites should not transfer marijuana items that are not sampled and tested. They also should not accept marijuana items that are not sampled or tested.
The Oregon Health Authority has different testing requirements for marijuana product types, and the testing requirements also vary according to the intention of usage. The testing requirements for products intended to be sold at retail shops or dispensaries are usually different from those for products designed to be used as materials for further processing. The various testing requirements for the different marijuana product types and the different intended uses are stated below:
Oregon licenses independent marijuana testing facilities to sample and test marijuana items before making them available for public consumption. However, this is not done directly. The Oregon Medical Marijuana Program (OMMP) requires independent medical marijuana laboratories to have both the ORELAP accreditation for laboratory testing of cannabis and the OLCC license for laboratory testing of cannabis. When a marijuana testing laboratory meets these two conditions, they are qualified to operate in Oregon. The state does not have an agency conducting marijuana testing.
As of January 2024, there are 13 ORELAP accredited testing cannabis laboratories in Oregon. However, only five of these facilities are accredited to conduct all the tests required by OMMP of marijuana and marijuana products.
Oregon requires marijuana testing facilities to fulfill two conditions to operate in the state:
Unlike many states in the US, Oregon does not require a marijuana testing facility to have an ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation. Having an ISO 17025 accreditation is a plus for the competence and reputation of a marijuana testing facility in the state, but it is not part of the requirements to operate. In 2020, some marijuana testing laboratories in the state started to announce that they had obtained the ISO 17025:2017.
The ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation is a document issued by the American National Standard Institute (ANSI) National Accreditation Board certifying the competence of a facility for calibration and testing. The accreditation is evidence that the facility complies with the required standards of operation and possesses a good quality management system.
The Oregon Health Authority does not issue an official marijuana testing laboratory license. The agency only mandates that a marijuana testing laboratory gets an ORELAP accreditation and is licensed by the Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC). A marijuana testing laboratory that meets these two conditions is competent to sample and test marijuana in the state.
To obtain ORELAP accreditation, a testing laboratory needs to:
To obtain an Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) license, the testing facility must download and complete a Marijuana Laboratory Application License Form. In addition to this, they need to supply the following documents:
These documents are to be completed and submitted to the regional office of the OLCC closest to the applicant. The OLCC has offices in all counties of Oregon. However, an applicant must schedule an appointment with the OLCC regional office nearest to them to submit the application. The addresses and contact information of the OLCC regional offices in Oregon are listed below.
Portland Regional Office
9079 Southeast McLoughlin Boulevard
Portland, Oregon 97222
Phone: (503) 872-5000
Fax: (503) 872-5266
Bend Regional Office
336 Southwest CyberDrive, Suite 104
Bend, Oregon 97702
Phone: (541) 388-6292
Fax: (541) 388-6321
Medford Regional Office
855 Medford Center Drive
Medford, Oregon 97504
Phone: (541) 776-6191
Fax: (541) 776-6188
Salem Regional Office
200 Hawthorne Avenue Southeast, Suite B-210
Salem, Oregon 97301
Phone: (503) 378-4871
Fax: (503) 378-4594
If the applicant is buying an existing licensed marijuana testing laboratory, they will be required to submit all the documents stated above and a completed OLCC Change of Ownership Form.
Oregon requires marijuana testing laboratories to have both ORELAP accreditation and OLCC license. To obtain an ORELAP accreditation for a marijuana testing laboratory located in the state, the applicant will be required to pay any of three levels of fees, including:
Out-of-state laboratories seeking primary or secondary ORELAP accreditation must pay the following fees:
The tier the applicant will be categorized in is determined by the total number of points derived from the number of fields of accreditation that the applicant requests for in the application. The Oregon Health Authority has a model used to determine applicants’ points according to the types of fields requested for accreditation as stated below:
The total number of points that will be used to calculate fees for the applicant will be determined by first adding up the number of fields of accreditation within each of the above-stated categories. The sum will be multiplied by the allotted multipliers for the respective categories. Then, the products from all the applicable categories will be added up to determine the total points for the applicant.
All laboratories requiring an on-site assessment of their facilities will also be required to pay a fee for each on-site assessment depending on the level of the Field of Assessment. Laboratories must pay $200 for each Basic Field of Assessment requested for their accreditation. These include gravimetric, physical, and probe accreditations. Moderate Fields of Assessment include spectrometry (absorption and fluorescence), colorimetric, chromatography, microbiology, and bulk asbestos accreditations and each of them costs an additional $600.
For Complex Fields of Assessment, the cost for each one is $1,000. These accreditations include:
For Advanced Technology Fields of Assessment, laboratories will be charged $1,400 for each of the following:
In addition to these fees, Oregon-based laboratories must also pay the following:
Out-of-state laboratories pay:
For the renewal of ORELAP accreditation, the Nelac Institute requires the same amount paid for accreditation to be paid for the renewal of accreditation in Oregon.
Applicants for an OLCC license for a marijuana testing laboratory in Oregon must pay a non-refundable application fee of $250. If the application is granted, they will be required to pay a license fee of $4,750. For the renewal of the license, the applicant will be required to pay $250 for renewal application.
There are no local regulations for marijuana laboratory testing facilities by cities and counties in Oregon. The OLCC only requires the city or county to approve the applicant’s Land Use Compatibility Statement Form. This is to ascertain that the use of the land for marijuana laboratory testing is consistent with the local comprehensive plan of the city or county.