By Garrett Rudolph
Testing requirements are going to be one of the big components for I-502 producers and processors, with potentially hundreds — if not thousands — of tests mandated prior to sale. There’s no question state-licensed producers and processors are going to become very familiar with the different testing laboratories, and those they choose to do business with.
This month, Marijuana Venture takes a look at two of the licensed testing facilities in Washington State: Analytical 360 and Confidence Analytics.
While Analytical 360 is one of the oldest and most well-known cannabis testing companies in the state, Confidence Analytics is a relative newcomer. Both have gotten the go-ahead from Columbia Basin College, which has undertaken the vetting process to certify labs for 502 testing.
Analytical 360
Analytical 360 was not only one of the first cannabis testing labs in the state, but was also the first testing facility to be certified to serve the I-502 marketplace with locations in Seattle and Yakima.
The planning steps for Analytical 360 (analytical360.com) began in 2010 and the Seattle-based testing facility first opened its doors for business in 2011. Five business partners — Dr. Lara Taubner, Randall Oliver, John Brown, Brenton Daubner and Ed Stremlow — started the business and remain key members as it’s grown rapidly in just a small handful of years.
“It took about a year to get it up and running, but it’s been on an upward swing ever since,” Stremlow said.
Nothing demonstrates Analytical 360’s upward swing than its expansion into a 22,000 square foot laboratory in Yakima.
“It’s huge,” Stremlow said. “It’s beautiful, too. It kind of worked out perfect. We’ve got walk-in bank vaults, we’ve got 4,000 feet of lab space separated between four different labs in the building. It’s pretty exciting.”
At a time when many labs are focused on expanding into other states to capture the growing medical marijuana market, Stremlow said Analytical 360 wanted to remain devoted to the Evergreen State and serve both the medical industry and the emerging legal, recreational market, as well.
“We’ve doubled down on Washington,” he said. “It’s where we started, so we wanted to make sure Washington was covered.”
Having the lab in Yakima, as well as a 1,000 square foot facility in Seattle, allows the company to service both Eastern Washington and Western Washington growers and processors. Stremlow said he only expects the need for testing to increase as the people’s views toward cannabis evolve and the “Reefer Madness” propaganda loses its remaining stronghold on certain parts of the population.
“I think it’s about educating the populous,” Stremlow said. “They’ve been truly lied to for the last hundred years.”
Confidence Analytics
Confidence Analytics jumped into the market of cannabis testing just a couple months ago and received its certification to handle 502 businesses in June.
Co-founders Nick Mosely and Bobby Hines started the company after a friend suggested a “need for more competition of testing cannabis for the medical market,” Mosely said. “He knew that I had experience in laboratory testing and we had started hearing about I-502 ramping up. … I found it wasn’t too hard to find venture capital and away we ran.”
Confidence Analytics (www.conflabs.com) is based out of Seattle, but, like many testing companies, services the entire state and spends a great deal of time traveling to pick up samples from growers throughout the region.
Mosely said testing is typically a small fraction of the overall operating cost for state-licensed growers and processors. So he said Confidence’s philosophy is not to focus too much on doing things as cheaply as possible, but to focus more on quality of service.
While Confidence Analytics performs all the tests required for producers and processors by the Washington State Liquor Control Board, Mosely said there’s a variety of other tests that business owners regularly ask about.
“We’re increasingly finding out that people are more and more interested in genetics,” he said. “People talk about strains all the time with marijuana, but there hasn’t to date been a lot of genetic profiling of the plant.”
Many growers are looking for more information about their plants that can be gained through different tests. Some of that includes identifying genotypic fingerprints that can be used in identifying strains and their lineages.
Too often, the type of strain is dependent on the grower knowing what he’s growing, which might not always be 100 percent accurate. The desire to validate which strains are which is increasing, “so people have a better understanding of what they have and where to get what they want,” Mosely said.
Serving the industry
All 502 producers and processors will need to send their product through vigorous testing from a certified laboratory before it can be sold to a retailer. Some of the results of those tests — including THC and CBD concentration — are required to be on the packaging label.
Other information — such as moisture content, results of microbial screening or residual solvent content — are optional, but give potential consumers more insight about the product they’re considering.
While many medical growers, retailers and consumers have been utilizing testing for several years, the testing situation is significantly different for state-licensed recreational businesses.
“It’s a different game (for 502 businesses),” Mosely said. “Testing is not voluntary. It’s a lot more stress for them.”
However, Stemlow said, in his experience, the testing can help growers refine their processes and techniques to
He said some people might fear testing, because the results will deem whether the product is good or bad. But it’s more about protecting your business than harming it, Stremlow said.
“If you sold something that’s going to get somebody sick, trust me, your business is in jeopardy,” he said.
It’s not just about fulfilling the state requirements; it’s also about being a good farmer or grower and ensuring the product is of good quality, he said.
“The people that test the most, it’s more about product development,” he said.
Mosely said a sample of about two grams is required for testing. Confidence Analytics stores the remainder of the sample that isn’t used for testing, in case a retest is needed. Also, the lab can use that remainder to study its genetic properties and learn more about the plant itself.
“We’re giddy about having a database worthy of mining” for information, Hines said.
To service the entire state, Analytical 360 and Confidence Analytics both offer courier services for picking up samples. Since third-party shipping is not allowed under the regulations of I-502, business owners or employees must handle all transportation of product. Testing labs that offer pickup services can potentially save 502 businesses a great deal of time and money.
“Testing labs can transport product, which can save a lot of headache,” Mosely said. “We’re finding that most producer/processors are interested in having the lab help with transportation. That’s kind of a big challenge for a lot of them, given that they’re spread all over the state.”