(The Center Square) – Pennsylvania’s medical marijuana program has been around for nearly eight years, but the safety of cannabis has come into question due to recent studies, prompting state lawmakers on Wednesday to advance legislation aimed at better program oversight.
Despite existing rules regarding testing cannabis grown in Pennsylvania for the state’s medical marijuana program, concerns have increased about what may be in the plant, and the products made from it, that could be potentially harmful.
Reports the past two years have shown an alarming amount of contaminants in marijuana – including such things as mold, lead, arsenic and other highly toxic heavy metals. In 2023, federal health authorities received thousands of reports nationwide about harmful side effects, including poisonings, that involved marijuana use, according to an investigation by the Wall Street Journal.
The state House of Representatives’ Health Committee reported out of committee House Bill 33, which majority chair and bill sponsor Rep. Dan Frankel, D-Pittsburgh, said would give the state Department of Health the authority to oversee the labs that currently test marijuana products to determine their contents and safety to consumers. The goal, said Frankel, is to ensure product integrity by establishing oversight through audit testing, quality assurance testing, data transparency and inspections.
Noting the still-contentious debate about access to marijuana, Frankel said, “It’s surprising how little disagreement there is that the Department of Health needs more oversight of the labs that test our medicinal marijuana to make sure it’s safe.”
He stated the legislation took more than a year to develop in concert with the regulated industry – which he said approached the legislature requesting “guardrails around the program” – as well as lab experts and the Health Department.
“I do think we need to continue making sure that people who are using the product, that we can ensure their safety,” added Rep. Kathy Rapp, R-Warren, committee minority chair, regarding the bill.
The Wall Street Journal investigation found some marijuana companies will use labs that fail the fewest products, which can allow contaminated or inaccurately labeled products to make their way to customers.
The marijuana plant is a bioaccumulator, which means it pulls substances out of the ground in which it grows faster than the substances can be metabolized or excreted, causing a buildup in the organism. The absorbed materials could be heavy metals, compounds found in pesticides used on the plant, other chemicals that are present or even fungal spores, like mold.
A study issued in 2023 by researchers at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health using data collected between 2005 and 2018 found marijuana users had 27% higher levels of lead and 22% higher levels of cadmium in their blood, and 21% higher levels lead and 18% higher levels of cadmium in their urine. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, there is no safe level of lead in the body, while cadmium has been linked with kidney disease and lung cancer.
Additionally, some species of widely found mold, such as Aspergillus, can be deadly for immunocompromised individuals, while other fungus species can threaten the lives of healthy marijuana users.
The number of people using marijuana, either recreationally or for medical reasons, has only increased in recent years as more and more states have pushed to legalize the drug. Released in 2023, a study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, which is part of the National Institutes of Health, found that in 2022, 44% of survey respondents aged 19 to 30 reported marijuana use during the prior year, up from 35% in 2017 and 28% a decade ago. For those ages 35 to 50, 28% reported use during the prior year, up from 17% five years ago and 13% from 10 years ago.
During the General Assembly’s 2023-24 legislative session, Frankel proposed similar legislation – House Bill 2208 – which was approved by the chamber with a 196-6 vote. However, the bill did not receive consideration in the Senate before the legislative session ended this past November.
Prior to its final vote on House Bill 33, the committee approved two amendments to the bill. One of the amendments made technical changes and clarifications that Frankel said were negotiated with the industry and Health Department. The other amendment inserted the language found in House Bill 28, which seeks to give the Health Department more oversight when determining whether a physician should be included in the registry of physicians that are authorized to certify individuals for medical marijuana use in Pennsylvania.
