Ohio cannabis testing requirements

Required tests

• Potency
• Terpenes
• Pesticides
• Residual solvents
• Heavy metals
• Microbials
• Mycotoxins
• Water activity
• Moisture
• Foreign matter

ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation

Required within a set period. OAC 1301:18-7-04: accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 within two calendar years (24 months) of the provisional license, from a non-profit ILAC MRA signatory body. A lab may petition the division to toll the deadline.

Notes

• Analysis requirements: OAC 3796:4-2-04 (effective May 2, 2022), still in force in September 2026.
• Labs need a DCC certificate of operation before testing (OAC 1301:18-7-01).
• Flower for dispensaries: moisture, water activity, cannabinoids, foreign matter, microbials, mycotoxins, heavy metals and pesticide/fertilizer residue.
• Plant material for processing: cannabinoids and pesticides only. Finished products: cannabinoids, foreign matter and microbials, plus other contaminants when the extract used was not already tested.
• Microbials: pass/fail per Table 9 of the 2014 "Cannabis Inflorescence" monograph.
• Mycotoxins: total aflatoxins B1, B2, G1, G2 under 20 µg/kg; ochratoxin A under 20 µg/kg.
• Heavy metals: arsenic, cadmium, lead and mercury.
• Pesticides: the most stringent 40 CFR Part 180 Subpart C food tolerance; any pesticide not on the approved list fails.
• Residual solvents: products made with an untested hydrocarbon-based extract, and single serving units that contain a solvent-based extract.
• Terpenes (10 named) are required only for single serving units (OAC 1301:18-4-23, effective September 11, 2026), whose panel also names total yeast and mold, Enterobacteriaceae, Salmonella and STEC.
• In flux: DCC Rules Package 7 (first circulated September 2024) would replace the 3796:4 testing rules with new 1301:18 rules. Rule 1301:18-4-23 already cites a rule 1301:18-4-13 that is not yet in the code.
• Senate Bill 56 (signed December 19, 2025; in effect March 20, 2026) placed adult use under the DCC, capped dispensaries at 400, and limited products over 0.4 mg total THC per container to licensed dispensaries.
• Adult use was approved by voters in 2023 (Issue 2).