Legal Cannabis Testing Gaps Endanger Consumers

State regulators in Colorado allowed systemic lapses in testing and warning procedures for recreational cannabis: auditors found that nearly three‑quarters of product processed between 2023–2025 evaded pesticide testing, contaminated products sometimes stayed on shelves for months to years, and advisories averaged many months to issue. These failures came with inconsistent inspections, weak random checks, and slow public notifications. — This highlights a recurring policy problem when novel industries are regulated: weak rules and capacity gaps can produce measurable public‑health exposure despite legalization, requiring rethinking of enforcement design and transparency.