Case study · State-licensed cannabis testing labs
Validation packages state auditors accepted, in 10+ test categories
A tested validation method for every major category states require, proven in multiple jurisdictions, with automation, SOPs, training and support through PT and audit.
The situation
A testing lab reports a category only after it has validated the method behind it, and a state-regulated lab answers to state auditors for that evidence.
The suite an accredited cannabis testing lab needs is wide: microbiology, potency, residual solvents, heavy metals, mycotoxins and more. Each category is its own science, often on its own instrument, with its own matrix problems and its own acceptance criteria.
A method for every category
We have a method for running the validation of each big-ticket category a state requires, and we have used them in multiple jurisdictions. A lab doesn’t have to work out from the regulations how to validate potency, pesticides or microbials. The plan already exists, and it has been through state auditors before.
What we did
Equilibrium Scientific has written and published validation packages across more than ten testing categories, covering the analytical suite accredited cannabis testing labs need: microbiology, potency, residual solvents, heavy metals, mycotoxins and additional assays. Microbiology is in our own background: an M.S. in Microbiology from Colorado State University, then years in a regulated sterility lab.
Around those methods sits everything a lab needs to run them:
- automation for the most common instrument types, so validation data is processed the same way every time;
- SOPs that cover what to order and what to do with it;
- training on the tested methods;
- complete SOP systems for labs that start with nothing.
We have led teams of 5–10 people through accreditation cycles.
The result
State auditors accepted the packages across 10+ testing categories. Across every engagement, no client has lost an accreditation.
The support runs end to end: preparing and executing proficiency testing (PT), talking to the auditors and responding to their critiques, and writing or updating the validation when it needs it.
What it means for your lab
You don’t have to invent a validation from the regulations. Whether you’re adding a category, starting a lab from nothing, or facing an audit:
- A tested method for each category your state requires, already used in multiple jurisdictions.
- The tools to run it: automation for common instruments, SOPs down to what to order, and training for your team.
- Support through the audit: PT preparation and execution, the conversation with the auditors, responses to their findings, and validation updates when you need them.
On the first call, we’ll tell you which of your categories need the work.
Written from our own account of the work. The client is anonymous.
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