Cannabis Testing

The fast-changing landscape of cannabis and hemp legalization for medicinal and adult recreational purposes presents unique testing challenges from identification of cultivars to potency and safety. Standardized reliable and robust sample preparation protocols and analytical methods are required to analyze cannabinoids, terpene content, residual pesticides and mycotoxins, residual solvents, moisture, heavy metals and microbial contaminants in cannabis and hemp products. Products range from flower buds and plant extracts to oils and cannabis-infused or CBD-containing foods, beverages and cosmetics. Analytical techniques such as HPLC-UV, LC-MS or LC-MS/MS, GC-FID, GC-MS or GC-MS/MS aid in the fast, sensitive and accurate means of quantification of analytes. The careful choice of high-quality standards, solvents, and chromatography consumables is also paramount to detecting traces of interfering contaminants for comprehensive cannabis profiling.