Laboratory Testing Programs

Cannabis industry analysis programs were developed to promote the safety of all medical patients and recreational consumers through required testing laboratory accreditation. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) is a set of principles intended to ensure the quality and integrity of non-clinical laboratory studies that are always intended to support research or marketing permits for all products regulated.

The main audience for this training is laboratorians who are developing and managing cannabis testing programs. This training can be used to help assess existing programs. But, other audiences may include government legislators and their staff, health regulator officials, and those working in the cannabis industry. Appropriate cannabis testing is critical to show that products don’t contain any harmful contaminant levels or adulterants so they’re 100% safe for consumption.

There are various approaches to the assessment and management of hazards that can be applied to cannabis testing so there’s a variety of methods to learn that are applied in product evaluation and protection programs for consumer products (ex. food, drugs, etc.). The product protection pyramid identifies all of those activities mandated by public health agencies, all producers, and any product handlers to help ensure product quality. At the base of this “pyramid”, growers and processors utilize good practices (ex. clean facilities, appropriate use of insecticides, etc.).

As part of the public health infrastructure, every government agency establishes programs to protect population health in the cannabis industry. There are a wide variety of programs in place that different agencies will use to test, monitor, and evaluate whether human exposures from the use of air, water, or any consumer products – including cannabis – present potential risks to health. On the basis of these cannabis testing and evaluation programs, government agencies have the authority to protect our health by taking action to ensure high-quality products.