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Notes from the testing bench
Instruments, methods, results and the rules behind them, written by the Equilibrium Scientific team. First published in 2023.
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Essential Equipment for Setting Up a Cannabis Testing Laboratory
The instruments a new cannabis testing lab needs: HPLC for potency, GC-MS for terpenes and solvents, LC-MS/MS for pesticides, ICP-MS for metals.
Instruments & methods
Methods for Testing Cannabis Potency: Understanding HPLC, GC-MS, and LC-MS
HPLC, GC-MS and LC-MS compared for cannabis potency: why HPLC is the standard, what GC's heat does to THCA, and where LC-MS/MS earns its cost.
Instruments & methods
Challenges and Controversies in Cannabis Testing: What You Need to Know
Lab shopping, inflated THC, false results and misreported data: the problems in cannabis testing, and what regulators have done about them since 2023.
Accreditation & compliance
The Evolution of Cannabis Testing Regulations: Navigating State and Federal Requirements
Where federal cannabis law stands in 2026 (Schedule III for medical cannabis, a narrower hemp definition) and how state testing rules keep changing.
Accreditation & compliance
How to Interpret Cannabis Testing Results
How to read a cannabis certificate of analysis: total THC, the units (%, mg/g, µg/g, ppb, CFU/g), ND and LOQ, and pass/fail microbial results.
Lab data & LIMS
The Importance of Cannabis Testing: Ensuring Quality and Safety in Cannabis Consumption
Why cannabis is tested: the potency, pesticide, microbial and solvent tests on a state panel, what each one protects against, and what it takes to pass.
Accreditation & compliance
Posts are general information, not legal advice. Each one shows the date its rules were last checked.
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