Lab Notes #3. A cannabis package is a little legal document, and every state writes its own. Over the summer we mapped who adds what to the label in our first 12 US states, from the farm to the shelf. Here is what changes at the state line, and the three things worth finding on any label.
November 2026. Source: our first 12 US state lab report explainers at weed-central.com/learn/coa.
1. Where the label leads to the lab report
The certificate of analysis (COA) is the lab's full report. Whether the label leads you to it depends on where you buy.
Required: New York requires a scannable QR code linked to the COA. Texas hemp labels carry a QR code or a link to the lab report.
Optional: California, New Jersey and Ohio allow a COA QR code without requiring one. New Jersey adds a backstop: the regulator's consumer guide says any dispensary must hand you the COA if you ask.
Not for you at all: in Pennsylvania the report goes only to the grower and the state. No QR code, no copy at the counter.
For the other 6 of those 12 (Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan and Washington), our explainers describe no label link to the report.
2. The tag that is almost always there
8 of the 12 states run their seed-to-sale records on the same system, Metrc: California, Colorado, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Washington runs its own (CCRS), Florida and Pennsylvania run state systems, and Texas hemp has no seed-to-sale system at all.
That long code on the package (a UID, package tag or serial number) is the jar's ID in the state record. In California, a UID QR ties the package back to that record, so you can confirm it is a real, registered package.
3. Same warning, many shapes
The required mark looks different almost everywhere:
California: a triangle reading "!THC".
Colorado: a "!THC" diamond.
Michigan: a green inverted triangle reading "MARIJUANA PRODUCT", with no "!" and no "THC".
New York: a yellow triangle with a leaf, "THC!" and a red "21+".
Massachusetts: two marks, a red "CONTAINS THC" triangle and a "Not Safe for Kids" octagon.
New Jersey: a red octagon reading "NOT SAFE FOR KIDS".
Washington: a red hand reading "NOT FOR KIDS", required on edibles, and no THC triangle.
Illinois: no symbol required at all. A long warning paragraph does the work.
4. Terpenes on the label: 3 of the 12
New Jersey requires a terpene profile on the label. Pennsylvania prints every terpene above 0.0%, as percentages, because terpenes are one of its eight required lab tests. Ohio prints a terpene profile, and its new label format, phasing in from September 11, 2026 and required by June 1, 2027, lists the top three terpenes.
The potency line has fine print too. Michigan labels must say the value may vary by 10%. Ohio reports results as received, with no dry-weight correction, and its new format swaps single numbers for a THC range.
What this means when you read a label
Find three things, in any state:
The tag. The UID, package tag or serial number ties the jar to the state record.
The lab. A QR code, a "tested by" line, or, in New Jersey, the COA on request.
The dates. A harvest date where the state requires one, and a packaging date.
WeedCentral's Smart Scan reads a lab QR code when the label has one and saves the report to your journal. Where there is no QR code, the explainer for your state shows what the label should carry.
15 new state guides
In October we added 15 more states, so the map now covers 27. Each guide plays one batch from farm to shelf. What stands out on each:
Alaska: The grower collects its own sample, there is no THC symbol, and the label must disclose every pesticide the grower used.
Arizona: No THC symbol, but every package carries a QR code to a page with the harvest date, the supply chain and a link to the lab's final report.
Connecticut: The batch must already sit in its final packaging when the lab employee picks samples, and any buyer can ask to see the certificate of analysis.
Maine: The label prints the Metrc ID of the exact batch that was tested and the words "Passed mandatory testing".
Maryland: The independent lab's own staff take the sample, and every package must make the certificate of analysis available by link or QR code.
Minnesota: The business takes its own sample on camera, and the law says it must show the results to anyone, in plain language.
Missouri: The lab collects the sample while the grower may only watch, and the label follows a fixed-order template under a red and white "THC" diamond.
Montana: Only a testing lab may collect the sample, and every label carries a QR code that opens the COA.
Nevada: The lab collects the sample, and every certificate of analysis goes to the state Board at the same time it goes to the business, pass or fail.
New Mexico: The lab is in charge of sampling, and the label, through an information panel or QR code, must disclose any pesticide the producer used.
Oklahoma: Sales to licensed patients only; a failed batch needs two passing retests in a row, and any licensed patient can ask the dispensary to see the COA.
Oregon: Only a lab employee can take the sample, and the label has to name who tested it and when.
Rhode Island: A COA is good for one year, and the state pulls products at random to check that testing and labels hold up.
Vermont: The flower's lab result must sit within 20% of the label, and a remediated product has to say so on its label.
Virginia: Until adult-use stores open on July 1, 2027, five pharmaceutical processors run the only legal dispensaries; the label prints the testing date and a pass or fail rating for each contaminant test.
How we did this
Source. Our first 12 US state explainers (California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington), published between August 17 and September 16, 2026, each built from that state's regulations, which it names (for example 4 CCR Div. 42 in California, N.J.A.C. 17:30 in New Jersey). Our hub also covers 15 more US states, added in October 2026 and summed up in one line each above, and 12 countries; every count in this issue uses the first 12 US pages only.
Method. For each question we read every one of the 12 explainers and counted only what an explainer states. "No link described" means our page does not mention one, not that the state forbids it.
Limits.
Rules change. Ohio's label format is changing now, and Texas banned delta-8 hemp products as of mid-2026. Each explainer says "current 2026" and is not legal advice.
Florida sells only to registered patients, and our Texas page covers hemp products, not its small low-THC program, so they are not like-for-like with the adult-use states.
The sample labels on our pages are illustrations, not real products.
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