Portland, Maine lab lands first conditional marijuana testing license

Maine has issued its first conditional recreational marijuana testing license to a Portland laboratory.

Nova Analytics of Portland must now obtain a temporary municipal license from the city of Portland and certification from the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct specific marijuana potency and purity tests before it can convert its provisional state license issued by the Office of Marijuana Policy into an active one.

If all goes as planned, Nova will open its doors in July, Nova Analytics cofounder and CEO Chris Altomare said.

“It’s been a long process, but we are very excited, and very proud, to get Maine’s first conditional testing license,” Altomare said. “There is still a lot of work to be done, but we are doing everything we can to make sure testing is ready to go when the market opens, whenever that may be.”

The Office of Marijuana Policy had planned to allow commercial adult-use cannabis sales to begin next month, but the COVID-19 pandemic has put the launch on indefinite hold, with regulators citing the public health concerns posed by opening day crowds. [Read more at Portland Press Herald]