Why Should You Select a Cannabis-Focused NJ Laboratory?
Testing laboratories are a critical part of the cannabis industry. Not only are testing labs required for legally mandated testing of cannabis flower and manufactured products, they also serve to bolster consumer confidence in the quality of the cannabis products available on the market.
For businesses operating in the newly legal cannabis industry, especially in fledgling markets like New Jersey, establishing consumer trust and demonstrating product quality is critical to gaining a competitive advantage and realizing long-term success. To do so, a reliable testing partner is a must-have — but not all testing laboratories are created equal.
While some jack-of-all-trades testing labs are willing to examine cannabis samples as part of their broader work, they do not have the same type of experience or relationship with the cannabis businesses and consumers that a cannabis-specialized testing laboratory does. If you are looking for testing laboratories in NJ, there are many reasons to select a cannabis-specific lab.
In this blog you will learn:
What testing laboratories do
Why cannabis businesses need testing laboratories
Why cannabis-specific testing laboratories offer an advantage
What to look for in a cannabis testing laboratory
Why cannabis businesses should choose a cannabis testing laboratory
Cannabis businesses benefit from partnering with a specialized and experienced cannabis testing laboratory because such a unique plant requires deliberate treatment and deep knowledge of the delicate nature of the plant and how it is cultivated and manufactured into products. From specific storage and transportation conditions to the stringent regulations that cannabis operators must abide by, a general lab is not as likely to be aware of all the minutiae – and the rapid pace changes – that can come with working with and testing cannabis.
Optimized storage conditions
While all laboratories have protocols in place for proper sample transfer and storage, a cannabis specific laboratory has greater experience working with cannabis, which is susceptible to contaminants in ways other products may not be.
Cannabis is highly sensitive to environmental conditions and samples can degrade rapidly if not kept in optimal conditions. Heat, humidity, oxygen, and ultraviolet (UV) light can quickly affect the compound profile of a cannabis sample. Lack of proper storage, even for just a couple of hours, could leave a sample open to contamination by microbials or mycotoxins, even if it entered the laboratory environment free of these contaminants. This can skew the results.
While general labs know how to handle samples with care, choosing a specialist ensures that every technician knows the precise techniques around how to properly store and preserve cannabis samples until it is time for testing.
Experts in cannabis regulations
The cannabis industry is a highly regulated space with rules that vary from state to state. While most general testing laboratories may be apprised of the regulatory requirements, really understanding the ins and outs can be difficult — especially for an organization managing samples and products from a wide range of industries.
When you work with a cannabis-specific lab, you can be sure that every role in the cannabis lab is laser-focused on the rules, from the Chief Science Officer down to every last analyst. That way, no legal or procedural consideration gets overlooked when it comes to testing your cannabis samples.
Moreover, when a laboratory is focused solely on cannabis, lab directors can also keep close tabs on changing regulations and trends affecting producers. A cannabis-specific laboratory maintains a close relationship with cannabis regulatory bodies, such as the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (NJCRC), which sets the rules governing cannabis testing.
In the legal cannabis industry, rules are regularly changing as state officials learn more and tweak programs. As a result, it is ideal to partner with a testing lab specializing in cannabis to ensure testing remains ahead of the curve and surpasses the existing regulatory baseline. This is especially true if the laboratory leadership plays a role in advising those regulations: For example, True Labs CEO, Sarah Ahrens, started and is the Chair for the Laboratory Testing Committee of the New Jersey CannaBusiness Association.
Knowledge of producer and consumer market
A cannabis-specific laboratory understands the needs and wants of the consumer market, and in some cases, such as with True Labs, has direct experience producing cannabis products. While general labs might understand what tests have to be run, specialized cannabis laboratories have their finger on the pulse of the producer and consumer market, may understand the cultivation and product manufacturing process intimately, such as the case with True Labs, and know the challenges producers face and the questions customers are likely to ask in the dispensary environment.
This knowledge enables cannabis testing laboratories to offer additional testing services as product availability evolves and consumers become more educated in newly legal markets, not only providing the regulatory minimums but also offering deeper insights. For producers, this means an increased ability to demonstrate what sets them apart from the competition, leading to more satisfied customers who are buying the products that best fit their needs.
Operates specialized testing
The equipment in cannabis testing labs may seem familiar to anyone who has spent time in a more general testing laboratory environment, but knowing how to apply it to cannabis samples requires experience with the plant and manufactured products that producers will be sending for testing.
For example, the use of a water activity meter may not be out of the ordinary, but understanding the importance of optimal water activity in a cannabis sample is something a specialized laboratory can explain in detail to a producer. Similarly, leveraging a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) thermocycler to test genetics and monitor for pathogens in cannabis samples requires familiarity with cannabis genetics that generalist technicians and analysts may simply not have.
In addition, properly calibrating this equipment to ensure cannabis testing results are accurate is critically important. If a machine is not properly calibrated it could skew results — but a trained eye specializing in cannabis may catch these errors, recognizing that the results are atypical. In a general lab, where analysts may be studying many kinds of samples, abnormal results might sneak by unnoticed.
Reliable cannabis testing laboratories in NJ
True Labs for Cannabis is dedicated to providing a full-service, top-quality cannabis testing laboratory, with the most cannabis-experienced and knowledgeable scientific leadership team in NJ. As the medical cannabis program expands and the adult-use market underway, producers need to be sure they can trust testing laboratories to not only do a good job, but also understand the unique considerations of the cannabis business front and back.
Unlike other laboratories in NJ, East Hanover-based True Labs for Cannabis was founded for the industry by members of the industry, and prides itself on offering in-depth analysis that aligns with current quality standards and goes above and beyond the requirements set by the current regulatory framework. When you need cannabis testing services, don’t settle for anything less than a specialist — speak with True Labs for Cannabis.