MJBizMag November-December 2022 - 111

products to consumers. That's because
state regulators across the nation lack
mechanisms to check the accuracy of
private laboratory testing results.
Without state-run labs to audit the
results of privately owned labs, growers
and product manufacturers are likely
to shop around for third-party labs
that deliver results showing the highest
THC potency.
" On the lab side, inflated potency
results that are not accurate are
happening everywhere, " said Jill
Ellsworth, founder and CEO of Denverbased
Willow Industries, which
provides decontamination technology
for hemp and marijuana.
Ellsworth said it would be a " great
idea " for state cannabis regulators to
audit private laboratories.
California and Colorado each have
taken stabs at operating state-run
testing labs to audit the THC-potency
test results of private labs.
Christian Poole, director of
marketing for Steep Hill-a marijuana
testing lab company based in Berkeley,
California, with locations in 10 states as
well as Canada and Mexico-said that
" lab shopping is definitely a real thing.
It's an issue in both Canada and the
United States. "
Testing labs have plenty of incentives
to engage in boosting THC potency
numbers, including getting additional
business and charging more for
favorable results, according to Poole.
But the broader question about the
cannabis industry's focus on potency
" can even help eradicate some of the
obvious ways of lab shopping to game
the system, " he added.
Poole pointed to a growing body of
evidence that the chemical compounds
in terpenes play an important role in
how consumers enjoy marijuana.
" There's a lot of people who will
argue that some of the best cannabis
they've ever smoked was not a highTHC
product, " he said. " The evolution
starts to suggest thinking about
terpenes as part of the picture as well. "
Terpenes play
a key role in
the consumption
of flower.
Jill
Ellsworth
laboratory PSI Labs, said another way
testing labs could reduce fraud is for
lab operators to take samples at the
cultivation facility, before growers
would have the opportunity to inflate
potency results.
Poole argued that consumers who
know a lot about marijuana and prefer
a mix of THC and high terpene content
should be driving that market evolution
as well as pushing growers and retailers
to make that type of flower available.
But Poole also sees a possible
downside: If the market shifts its
attention to higher terpene content, then
growers might start shopping for labs
that give favorable terpene numbers.
Poole also works for Molecular Science
Corp., a testing lab based in Toronto.
Health Canada has its own testing
labs that the Canadian government
contracts to help investigate testing
results. For example, if a certificate of
analysis comes in with a very high THC
number, regulators can check whether
the results are legitimate.
OTHER LAB SOLUTIONS
Lev Spivak-Birndorf, co-founder and
chief science officer for Ann Arbor,
Michigan-based cannabis testing
The push for cannabis flower to test
at 25% or more " gets crazy, " SpivakBirndorf
said.
Labs have reported that some
growers will submit adulterated
samples that have been sprayed with
THC distillate or coated with extra THC
crystals, for example.
Spivak-Birndorf's lab recently
participated in a study that
analyzed nearly 90,000 samples of
cannabis across six U.S. states with
regulated marijuana markets.
" Flower testing with more than 25%
total THC is in the 93rd percentile,
which means it's rare, " Spivak-Birndorf
said. Flower testing with 35% THC is
above the 99th percentile-yet product
labels often show such a potency level.
" Potency inflation, which can increase
the value and salability of your
product, does get a little questionable
once you start digging, " he said.
Bart Schaneman covers
cultivation and extraction
for Marijuana Business
Magazine. You can reach
him at bart.schaneman@
mjbizdaily.com.
mjbizdaily.com | November-December 2022 109
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