Report: Arizona cannabis testing lab keeps breaking rules, but stays open
- A Florida-based national cannabis testing lab chain, Kaycha Labs, continues to violate Arizona state regulations despite being fined $88,500 in 2025 for earlier infractions.
- State inspections in 2026 uncovered repeated issues, including THC potency test dilution problems and elevated pesticide levels, leading to recalls and ongoing concerns over public safety.
- Kaycha Labs has received multiple citations since 2023, with some violations repeatedly noted by Arizona’s Department of Health Services, but has only paid half of the original fine.
- The number of licensed cannabis testing labs in Arizona is declining, dropping from 11 in mid-2025 to seven recently, amidst ongoing industry challenges and regulatory scrutiny.
Assessed the heaviest fine levied against an Arizona cannabis testing laboratory last year, a Florida-headquartered national chain of commercial cannabis testing laboratories is continuing to break the rules.
That’s according to state inspections of Kaycha Labs, which state regulators in 2025 fined $88,500 for certain violations of state rules that more recent inspections earlier this year discovered yet again, according to the Arizona Republic.
It’s unclear what further penalties may be assessed.
It’s also unclear why the lab appears to be getting away with committing the same transgressions that many critics nationwide say are jeopardizing public safety and undermining trust in cannabis industry safety and potency claims.
The lab has only paid half the original 2025 fine, according to the newspaper.
According to the Republic, state Department of Health Services inspectors visited Kaycha’s Tempe lab in June.
At that time, they discovered a “dilution problem” with THC potency tests that would have “skewed results,” the newspaper reported.
That followed a November 2025 inspection in which state authorities discovered elevated levels of a pesticide.
A recall the next month cited “failed testing for the pesticide,” the Republic reported.
And all that came on the heels of an April 2025 finding of more than a dozen alleged “deficiencies,” including problems with the lab’s potency testing and pesticide and microbial detection methods.
Arizona regulators have found fault with Kaycha about a half-dozen times now.
Several alleged violations noted by Arizona’s Department of Health Services (DHS) in its April 2025 “report of findings” were “double repeat findings” also cited by the agency during inspections in 2023 and 2024, according to violation notice.
Among Arizona’s DHS findings were that Kaycha:
Untrustworthy cannabis testing lab results has been a major problem in the legal industry across the country for years.
According to critics, labs are pressured by the market to deliver favorable results to clients who run licensed cultivation or manufacturing operations. Those operators in turn claim they can’t sell to retailers without favorable potency results.
As the Republic noted, Kaycha claims to be “the largest Multi-State operator in the cannabis testing industry,” with locations in nine states.
Exclusive industry data and analysis to help you make informed business decisions and avoid costly missteps. All the facts, none of the hype.
What you will get:
Meanwhile, labs are exiting the cannabis industry in Arizona.
There are seven labs licensed to test cannabis in the state as of the most recent state Department of Health Services data available, down from 11 as of mid-2025.