In-house Canabanoid tester?

Hey there!

I’m dealing with a situation that’s painful. We have to test our cannabis with only 1 lab and we’re really thinking their waaay off on their results. We’d test our Tangie at 7% and then retest the same flower as something else and it would come back at 18%. Lot’s of high variations over the past 3 months.

So, my question is, do any of you have an in-house THC tester? I’m looking for something that doesn’t take a Phd to run and give an accurate / consistent set of results. I’d be happy with a +/-2% but would prefer +/-1%

Thanks!

.: CG

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There was some discussion of it in this thread:

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Try TLC (Thin Layer Chromatography) kit. Cheap, easy and will give you a good indication of most cannabinoid levels. In good lab conditions 2% is achievable. Look for Cannalytics.

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I’m assuming there are no other labs near you available for a second opinion?

Have you discussed the variation with the lab at all? It could be that they aren’t aware of some flaw in their procedures.

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Thanks for asking about this @caribbeangreen!

So a couple of things:

  • If you want to do your own in-house analysis, you don’t need need someone with a Ph.D, but I would recommend someone with a B.S. in chemistry. GC-MS is the industry standard for analyzing sample compositions.
  • Even the cheapest GC-MS machines can cost thousands of dollars to buy, and they are often slow or outdated. More modern ones can cost about as much as a new car. I’ve seen some incredible industrial-scale GC-MS machines that cost $2 million each. All depends on your need and ability to acquire one.
  • Barring investment, your other best bet is to search for other accredited labs, or consult with your current lab about the variation. Maybe there’s an error in their sampling methodology, or there’s an issue on your methodology. Consider asking @cmtlabs their opinion on the matter.
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HI, @Hunter!

Thanks for tagging us.

What you said was very helpful, especially when it comes to the initial investment and trained staff.

However, I’m afraid that you can’t use a GC to analyze cannabinoids, because the heat decarboxilates the acidic cannabinoids into their neutral forms (ex: THCa converts into THC).

You must use an HPLC for cannabinoids.

You can use a GC for multiple other purposes, though, such as terpene profiling and residual solvent analysis for extracts. It works great for that!

Edit: We have 8 HPLCs at our 3 locations, so feel free to ask us about them!

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I wish I could use another lab, but here in Puerto Rico, there’s only 1 :frowning:

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@caribbeangreen what is the name of the lab that you use?

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Novacann Labs

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Full disclosure, I am the President and Co-Founder of this company. Our passion is to democratize and bring lab grade chemical analysis (Potency, Terpene and Solvent Screening) in-house and put valuable data in the hands of growers and extractors.

For what its worth. And not trying to be overly “pitchy” as I stand behind everything I say… Our company [https://ionizationlabs.com/](http://Ionization Labs / Cann-ID) with The Cann-ID turn-key potency testing solution is one of the most simple to operate, accurate, reproducible solutions available in the market today. Cann-ID is an award-winning potency testing solution. [Top Honors @ National Hemp Expo.]

Happy to DM with you to answer any questions.
D. Cree Crawford, Ccrawrord@ionziationlabs.com

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What is the fascination with being able to tell THCa from THC? As far as a grower is concerned, we could care less. It doesn’t matter. So, a GC is fine. Check out SRI instruments. That make a unit just to measure CBD, THC and CBN. They claim their market is pot growers. Unit costs 5k

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Kirk,

You know you business. I don’t know how to answer your question. It is not only the number of cannabinoids (of which we have a PPB LOD for 14 currently) it is the ability to accurately analyze without much if any discrepancy when you send product out to the lab for cert. Thats what we offer. GC is not used for certification. HPLC is.

Best

Cree

D. Cree Crawford, Co-Founder / President

Ionization Labs -a Green Ocean Sciences, Inc. Company
ccrawford@ionizationlabs.com
www.IonizationLabs.com
Direct: (831)-869-3929
Office:(888) 588-4356

3636 Dime Circle (A) - Austin, TX. 78744

*Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/creecrawford
*Rally Point Military Community: https://www.rallypoint.com/profiles/196052-d-cree-crawford

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Thanks for the reply. I think we are looking at two different markets. Certification is determined by bureaucrats and growers want to know which plant they should be cloning. Certification testing in Oregon is totally ridiculous. I have seen lab tested bud that is supposedly 40% THC for sale here. With this kind of nonsense does it really matter what instrument is used?

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Same markets.
We just created a better more consistent and accurate “mouse trap” . We have state licensed labs presenting our platform as a certification method.

This sets a baseline for then growers, extractors etc. to have confidence in nominal % difference (which we have below 5% from unit to unit) unlike even the acceptable 10-15% acceptability.

Have a good week

C

D. Cree Crawford, Co-Founder / President

Ionization Labs -a Green Ocean Sciences, Inc. Company
ccrawford@ionizationlabs.com
www.IonizationLabs.com
Direct: (512) 273-7832
Office:(888) 588-4356

3636 Dime Circle (A) - Austin, TX. 78744

*Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/creecrawford
*Rally Point Military Community: https://www.rallypoint.com/profiles/196052-d-cree-crawford

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