Steep Hill Expands To Oregon

Last week, Steep Hill announced they are expanding into Oregon with a laboratory in Portland. According to the press release, the company has licensed its testing technology to Dr. Carl Balog, a renowned pain and addiction physician. Steep Hill has expanded significantly over the past year, including new laboratories in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Hawaii, among other states. The …

Using Cloud-Based LIMS To Improve Efficiency In Cannabis Labs

Cannabis testing laboratories around the country are expanding quickly, taking on new clients and growing their business incrementally. Many of these labs are receiving a large number of test requests from growers for potency testing, terpene profiling, pesticide screening, residual solvent screening, heavy metal testing, microbial analysis and even genetic testing. To keep pace with the number of test requests …

Ask The Expert: Exploring Cannabis Laboratory Accreditation Part 3

In the first part of this series, we spoke with Michelle Bradac, senior accreditation officer at A2LA, to learn the basics of cannabis laboratory accreditation. In the second part, we sat down with Roger Brauninger, A2LA Biosafety Program manager, to learn why states are looking to lab accreditation in their regulations for the cannabis industry. In the third part of …

Shimadzu, Cure And CK Sciences Partner On R&D of Pharmaceutical Cannabis Products

Yesterday, Shimadzu announced the formation of a partnership with Cure Pharmaceutical Group and CK Sciences to research and develop pharmaceutical cannabis-based products, according to a press release. The three organizations entered a collaborative agreement with the goal of researching and developing products, then moving them through clinical trials using FDA guidelines. According to the press release, the partnership’s primary goal …

Quality Assurance In The Field: Instruments For Growers & Processors

As the cannabis marketplace evolves, so does the technology. Cultivators are scaling up their production and commercial-scale operations are focusing more on quality. That greater attention to detail is leading growers, extractors and infused product manufacturers to use analytical chemistry as a quality control tool. Previously, using analytical instrumentation, like mass spectrometry (MS) or gas chromatography (GC), required experience in …

Ask The Expert: Exploring Cannabis Laboratory Accreditation Part 2

In the first part of this series, Michelle Bradac, senior accreditation officer at the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA), told us about the basics of laboratory accreditation, what it means and why it is such a cornerstone of product safety. In this next piece, we sit down with Roger Brauninger, A2LA Biosafety Program manager, to learn why states are …

PA Approves First Two Cannabis Labs

According to a PennLive article, Pennsylvania’s Department of Health approved the first two cannabis laboratories for their medical cannabis program. ACT Laboratories of Pennsylvania LLC and Keystone State Testing LLC are the companies that were approved to perform analytical testing for safety and quality in cannabis products. Both laboratories expect to be operational before the end of 2017, according to …

Ask The Expert: Exploring Cannabis Laboratory Accreditation Part 1

Laboratories throughout the world and in a variety of industries get accredited to demonstrate their competency. In the cannabis industry, some states are beginning to require it and many labs get accredited even if their state doesn’t require it. So what does accreditation mean and why is it so important? The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) is a standard-setting organization …

Ask the Expert: Q&A with Steve Stadlmann on Cannabis lab Accreditation

Steve Stadlmann has an extensive background as an analytical chemist working in laboratories since the early 90’s. He is now a sales specialist at PerkinElmer, an analytical instrument manufacturer that provides instruments for cannabis testing labs, in addition to a host of other industries. With over two decades of experience working in environmental testing labs, food and beverage labs and …

Chalice Farms Canna Boot Camp Educates Portland Attendees

On Monday, August 28th, attendees of the Cannabis Science Conference descended on Portland, Oregon for a week of educational talks, networking and studying the science of cannabis. On Monday, Chalice Farms, an extracts and infused products company, hosted a full day Canna Boot Camp focused on a deep dive behind the scenes of a cannabis production facility. The Cannabis Science …