A small Oregon agency with big pull in the nation is facing a personnel shakeup.
A top official with the agency that certifies labs in multiple states for items such as water and marijuana testing is stepping down early next year. The move comes after he argued that the agency was overburdened by a flood of labs seeking cannabis-testing accreditation.
Gary K. Ward, administrator of the state’s environmental lab accreditation program, ORELAP, confirmed he is retiring Jan. 1, 2017, citing health concerns he says were caused because of lack of resources allocated to the agency by its leadership and the Oregon Health Authority.
The program is part of the Health Authority. It accredits more than 120 labs both in and outside of Oregon, according to Health Authority spokesman Jonathan Modie. Not only does it accredit labs to test marijuana potency levels, pesticide and THC levels, but also drinking water safety and other tests. The labs are in about a dozen states across the nation. [Read more at Statesman Journal]