New Jersey’s Legal Cannabis Supply Sparking Safety Concerns with Lab Testing

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A recent press release (1) showed safety concerns in regulated cannabis products sold in New Jersey. Results (2) from a secret shopper program performed by The Safe Leaf Society, founded in 2025 with the hope to “improve safety and transparency in New Jersey’s regulated cannabis products”, revealed that these cannabis products that were acquired failed recent independent safety tests for molds and pathogens (1). Additionally, THC levels found on the product labels showed that they were inflated.

To gather data, Safe Leaf acquired the products used in the program from dispensaries in New Jersey. Samples were then sent to independent and certified laboratories to be tested. Safe Leaf mentioned in that the results are released to the public and “As more data is collected, we hope to reveal the root causes of ongoing safety issues,” (1).

Safe Leaf first decided to tackle pre-rolls. As mentioned in the press release, the organization found that (1), “Seven out of twenty-five pre-rolls (28%) failed by exceeding the microbial limits set by New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission. Failures were spread across five separate cultivation licensees. Five of those seven products that failed were labeled for sale as having pathogen levels of zero. Our independent test showed levels over 100,000 CFU/g raising red flags about potential labeling fraud.” Additionally, “All eight pre-rolls tested for cannabinoid potency (THC) failed to meet NJCRC’s acceptable labeling variance requirements. Six different NJCRC licensees accounted for the failed tests,” (1-3).

In a joint statement (1), Safe Leaf founders Andrea Raible and Michael Boone said, “We're not doing this to create controversy. We want to work with consumers, industry leaders, and regulators to make sure that we prioritize safety and integrity.”

Raible further explained, “Mislabeled cannabis is equivalent to a pharmacy providing the wrong prescription or a restaurant regularly serving moldy food.”

Boone expressed that the cannabis industry within New Jersey has made improvements to help with legitimacy. “But, if we don't hold cannabis to the same standards as food and medicine we will erode consumer trust. We must have rigorous testing that provides science backed information.These conditions are non-negotiable,” Boone mentioned (1).

The program anticipated to find discrepancies with the tested products but were shocked to find the large amount of mis-labeling of cannabinoid levels and contamination (1).

“As an asthmatic with yeast and mold allergies, I don't always need a lab test to tell me something is wrong with my medicine- the reaction can be pretty immediate,” said Raible (1). “I consider myself lucky, some immunocompromised patients have no warning signs, and the results of consuming contaminated cannabis can be truly devastating.”

The press release mentioned (1) that research showed that in New Jersey, some producers are only providing consumers with about half of the tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content that is declared on the label.

“New Jersey consumers are paying some of the highest prices in the nation for cannabis, we should at least be able to count on it being clean and labeled accurately, " added Raible (1).

References

1. Safe Leaf Society. Press release https://www.safeleafsociety.com/resources/press-release (accessed Mar 18, 2025).
2. Blind Testing: Pre-rolls in NJ CRC Program. March 2025 https://www.safeleafsociety.com/data-1/project-one-h346n-zrz82 (accessed Mar 18, 2025).
3. Isolated charts sample set 1A https://www.safeleafsociety.com/data-1/isolated-datacharts (accessed Mar 18, 2025).