California implements mandatory purity testing for recreational pot

(FOX 11) - Legal recreational marijuana must now be tested in California. Just like any other consumer product to make sure it's safe before you smoke it or eat it. The state says it's all about consumer protection. But as Phil Shuman found out a high percentage of weed is not passing the contamination test.

It seems a little unusual, perhaps even contradictory, to ask if a drug is ''safe." After all, the purpose of drugs in most cases is to alter something in your body.

When it comes to recreational and now medical pot, the state of California has implemented mandatory testing to make sure your marijuana is free of any potential dangerous contaminants, such as pesticides or heavy metals typically found in soil.

FOX 11 visited one of only a few dozen state certified testing labs and also spoke with the doctor who started an institute for the study of cannabis. There aren't enough.

We also spent some time with retailers concerned about the supply, who say it may be interrupted by failed batches.

Interestingly, the state agency that runs all of this in the Sacramento area was too busy to talk to us about this important consumer protection issue, but we got the latest stats from them.

Bottom line: the idea is to make sure pot contains only pot.

How are growers doing? Watch the story above.