From 9NEWS (Denver) and USA Today:  Despite a much-heralded system designed to track every marijuana plant grown and sold, and to independently test samples, Colorado’s recreational pot marketplace very much remains “buyer beware,” in large part because state regulators can’t answer basic questions about the industry they oversee.

State regulators, whose salaries are paid through the fees levied on marijuana growers, processors and retailers, say they’ve focused more on keeping the industry from running afoul of federal prosecutors. They admit they aren’t looking at large amounts of their own data, and acknowledge much of it would be useful to lawmakers and public health experts, as well as the general public.

“There is no playbook to go off of,” said Lewis Koski, the state’s top marijuana regulator. “I think it is safe to say the world is watching.

Because Colorado regulators refused to make public much of the data it has been collecting for months, USA TODAY purchased nearly $500 worth of marijuana and marijuana-infused foods known as edibles, and then had it independently tested to check for potency and accuracy in labeling.

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