Maryland: from grower to dispensary, what ends up on the label

Step by step: Maryland

1. Step 1: Grower / batch (Grower) A licensed grower tags every plant with a unique ID and batch number in Metrc, the state's seed-to-sale system, weighs the batch after drying and curing, and holds it in secure, segregated storage until release. This becomes the label's lot number and net weight.
2. Step 2: The lab samples at the grower (Independent lab) Staff from an independent testing laboratory registered with the MCA sample at the grower, aseptically, from the top, middle and bottom of the containers: increments totaling 0.5% of the batch (10 increments under 10 pounds, 12 for 10 to 20 pounds), plus a 23-gram retention sample.
3. Step 3: Potency, terpenes, contaminants (Independent lab) The lab, accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 and independent of every grower, processor and dispensary, measures 14 cannabinoids plus the terpenes in the American Herbal Pharmacopeia monograph, and screens foreign matter, yeast and mold, aerobic bacteria, E. coli, Salmonella, mycotoxins, water activity, heavy metals and pesticides.
4. Step 4: COA + failure report (Independent lab) The lab issues a certificate of analysis for the batch and reports any failed result in Metrc within 24 hours. Pesticide, mycotoxin, pathogen and foreign-matter failures are destroyed; yeast and mold, flower water activity, heavy metal and solvent failures can be remediated, then retested on two new samples.
5. Step 5: Grower releases the batch (Grower) Only after reviewing the COA may the grower assign an expiration date, release the batch and update its status in Metrc. It must also give the lab a retained sample for stability testing at six-month intervals. Potency may vary by up to ±10%.
6. Step 6: Package + label (Grower) The grower packs it tamper-evident, child-resistant and opaque, and labels it with net weight, lot number, packager, a manufacturer phone number for adverse events, every cannabinoid and terpene by weight, harvest and expiration dates, four warnings and the Maryland Poison Center number.
7. Step 7: Symbol + COA on the package (MCA) The front carries Maryland's red "THC MARYLAND" triangle, at least ½ inch square and exactly as the MCA supplies it, and the package must make the certificate of analysis available through a link or QR code.
8. Step 8: Dispensary sale (Dispensary) The dispensary checks a government photo ID (21+), keeps adult-use sales to 1.5 ounces of flower a day, records the sale in Metrc, and must show any required label information in an easy-to-read format if you ask.