Health

The Processes Involved in Cannabis Testing

The recent changes in the law have made cannabis into a quick growing industry. The medicinal cannabis goes through lab testing, and the labs are required to hire the qualified individuals who can do different kinds of testing. The laboratories that are involved in the cannabis testing test it for residual solvents, microbial, and physical contamination, terpenes, and potency. In a residual solvent analysis, the active ingredients are extracted from the cannabis by using solvents like carbon dioxide, ethanol, water, butane, and other materials. Solvents play a significant role as huge volumes are needed to achieve the greater purity levels.

Testing the microbial and physical contamination of the cannabis by CanMedLabs needs various steps. The handling and the packaging of the cannabis should happen on a clean surface, and the people who handle it should wear gloves to avoid any physical contamination. The tested medicinal cannabis should be packed on a clean surface and should not touch the floor. The procedures involved in microbial testing include sound assay design, statistical sampling, microorganism testing, and validation. The water activity level is instrumental in the microbial content. The curing process, therefore, should be thorough as well as sufficient.

Elements in a Cannabis Lab set up

Many tools and procedures are needed for the testing of cannabis. When the sample is given to a lab to test its potency, it undergoes a visual inspection using a high-magnification microscope. A microscope reveals the presence of any visible contaminant or mold. After getting the clean sample, the plant is grounded to an excellent material, wherein you add the solutions to separate the cannabinoids. The resulting solution is thereafter extracted. At this stage, this solution is again tested with liquid chromatography. The thin layer chromatography, as well as the gas chromatography, is used for testing the potency.

For testing the pesticides, mass spectrometers are needed because they can detect several particles. Contaminant, terpene, and strain testing are all done using the polymerase chain reaction. It not only allows you to know the exact amount of mold, yeast, bacteria, and fungus on the sample but also the number of DNA molecules. Several jobs are included for processing the cannabis required for the medicinal purposes. So, a person has to be knowledgeable and experienced. The analytical chemists need to have training related to testing in the lab, like mass spectrometers and gas chromatographs. They direct and assist the lab technicians on how to operate the equipment.

Training in Cannabis Lab testing

There are technical institutes that offer training for cannabis lab testing. The institutes usually provide hands-on instructions regarding the testing methods, the operation of equipment, and troubleshooting among many others. Though cannabis is considered legal in many places, it’s still at the stage of infancy. So, the training programs that are available vary from one state to another, and the learning materials and the teaching methods differ too. As more things are learned about this plant, the learning materials content shall change too. After completing your training program, you can work in the best cannabis testing lab such as CanMedLabs.

Related Articles

Back to top button