Connecticut: from grower to shelf, what ends up on the label

Step by step: Connecticut

1. Step 1: Cultivator / harvest batch (Cultivator) A licensed cultivator, producer or micro-cultivator harvests a batch: one genotype, harvested within 72 hours and cured together, at most 40 lb for testing. Every plant and package is logged under a unique identifier in CATS, Connecticut's seed-to-sale system. This is where the cultivated-by line and the net weight come from.
2. Step 2: Into final packaging first (Packager) Since 1 January 2025 the batch must be homogenized, inspected for foreign matter and placed in its final packaging before the lab arrives, so the sample is the product exactly as it will be sold. Products are capped at 40,000 units per batch.
3. Step 3: The lab picks the sample (Lab) A testing laboratory employee selects samples at random from the packaged batch: at least 0.4% of the batch and never under 20 g of raw cannabis, or 2 to 32 packaged units for products depending on batch size. Lab staff may enter the restricted area only to identify and collect samples. The rest of the batch is isolated and may not move.
4. Step 4: Lab analysis (Lab) An in-state, DCP-licensed lab working to ISO/IEC 17025 runs microbials (by qPCR, with four Aspergillus species screened on inhalables), five mycotoxins, five heavy metals, 66 pesticides (21 must not be detected at all), water activity, solvents for extracts, a vape-additive screen (no vitamin E acetate, PEG, MCT oil or squalene) and the full cannabinoid and terpene profile.
5. Step 5: COA into CATS + the THC ceiling (Lab) The lab enters every result in CATS and issues the certificate of analysis; until then nothing may be sold or moved. Adult-use flower over 30% total THC on a dry-weight basis fails, as does any other product over 60% (vape cartridges aside); stronger products may go only to patients. The lab keeps 25% of the sample for 60 days for state testing, and a COA is valid for one year at most.
6. Step 6: DCP registration (DCP) The Department of Consumer Protection registers every product name against a COA no more than 30 days old, and a product may carry that name only while its tested profile stays within 90% to 110% of the registration. The first batch in each category is stability-tested in its final package at 30 and 60 days. A failed batch follows the retest and remediation rules of Public Act 24-76.
7. Step 7: Package + label (Packager) The package is one solid color, opaque, child-resistant and tamper-evident. The label is printed in black Times New Roman at least 1/10 inch tall: CATS ID, registered name, grower, expiration, net weight in metric and imperial units, directions and onset time, each active ingredient over 1%, allergens, a red-boxed warning plus a rotating one, and two DCP graphics: the red-outlined CONTAINS THC triangle and the red 21+ circle.
8. Step 8: Retail sale (Retailer) A retailer or hybrid retailer sells to adults 21+, at most one ounce per package; edibles are capped at 5 mg THC per serving and 100 mg per package. An insert, extended label or static QR code carries the full profile and test results, and the COA must be available on request to any buyer.