WTF is the deal with Lab Testing?

in 2012 you could browse budgenius and sclabs for the thc% of samples

my current understanding - (pure conjecture) is that labs are less than scientific in their calculating / reporting

allegedly - labs inflate their numbers (if the truth is that sample X = 12% THC -- the lab will just say "sample X = 22% THC")

and that this is manditory to stay in business as a testing lab. How can an honest lab compete? When the testing lab next door (dishonestly) gives every sample a high THC %?

I'm basing this entirely on the guests of the PotCast - nobody has contradicted this view (that I am aware of)

so what are we waiting for? Nobody wants to complain and demand lab transparency?

what am I missing here?

what am I on - CrazyPills?

Why Does Cannabis Need to be Tested?
The Plant
Cannabis has many medicinal benefits, and as all medicinal products have information regarding their strength and dosage information, cannabis products are now being held to the same standards. Regulations and standards for acceptable limits of specific compounds are currently being developed by international organizations to ensure cannabis products do not compromise a person’s immune system. The two major reasons cannabis products are tested are: to verify the products are safe for human consumption and to give consumers an idea of the potency of the product they are using.

Human Safety
Cannabis plants act like a sponge during cultivation and absorb everything to which they’re exposed, from the nutrients and heavy metals in the soil, to the pesticides that may have found their way into a greenhouse from the neighboring farm. For this reason, cannabis products are now tested for any materials that can remain present in the final flower. Regulatory agencies have started establishing maximum quantity limits that are acceptable for residual solvents, pesticides, heavy metals, microbials, and mycotoxins.

The use of dangerous Pesticides, Fungicides, and Plant Growth Regulators on Cannabis has been documented. These residual toxins create potentially dangerous safety issues to patients when consumed. Mold and fungal contaminants should be of concern to anyone who consumes medical Cannabis, especially those that are prone to asthma, allergies, or have a compromised immune system.

Similar to the tomatoes at the grocery store or a shirt you buy online, there are acceptable limits that agencies have set for each compound and they are all listed in a cannabis products “Certificate of Analysis.” A certificate of analysis shows the lab testing results and allows consumers to ensure the products they consume are free of unwanted chemicals, pests, or organisms that can compromise a person’s immune system, including residual solvents, microbiological contaminants, mycotoxins, heavy metals, and pesticides.



Cannabis Potency
Lab testing is the only way to know the cannabinoid makeup and terpene profile of the cannabis product you’re consuming. These two variables are the most important to consider when selecting your cannabis as they directly influence the experience you will have.

Because cannabis is influenced so much from the environment in which it is grown, a cultivar grown in one part of the world might look the same as another cultivar you experienced in the past, but it may contain completely different amounts of cannabinoids and terpenes, which will change your experience. In simple terms, one cultivator’s “Blue Dream” may have a different potency and chemical makeup than another’s. It is important to pay attention to the amount of cannabinoids and terpenes present in cannabis prior to consumption to best anticipate the effects you may experience.

weedmaps.com/learn/the-plant/does-cannabis-need-to-be-tested/

MMJ patiens this is super important info

Honest labs go out of business. Testing information is not at all useful to the end user. Its marketing, and it's unregulated.

The amount of every batch that has to be tested is minimal, isn't randomly selected, its submitted and came from a different room all together in most cases.. They're literally testing private shit grown at home and labeling it as Greenhouse #147 or whatever. There's nothing stopping them.

I see it all the time, the buds on display aren't even the same shit in the bags most the time.

After purchasing at least a few jars of lab tested flower recently it is mostly clear that the thc numbers are not reliable in terms of potency. The price ranges may reflect potency but the lab numbers in general are not helpful. Hit or miss I suppose, meaning I have seen 11-12% thc and then 22-23% thc listed on samples of similar price/strength/quality. There is also the concept that a single number thc % tells you very little about a strain or sample and its qualities.

Mandating lab testing & accepted rampant fraud does not send a positive public relations message.

art.spliff said:

After purchasing at least a few jars of lab tested flower recently it is mostly clear that the thc numbers are not reliable in terms of potency. The price ranges may reflect potency but the lab numbers in general are not helpful. Hit or miss I suppose, meaning I have seen 11-12% thc and then 22-23% thc listed on samples of similar price/strength/quality. There is also the concept that a single number thc % tells you very little about a strain or sample and its qualities.

Mandating lab testing & accepted rampant fraud does not send a positive public relations message.

Click to expand...

there is different phenos always.

22-23 thc is what some strains / genetics can reach.
This is not same always.
Grow 10 different seeds , and even if they are from exactly same stock / brand / batch, same grow and there will be different numbers if you test them all

The max possible must be in label. Because some has that also.

They cant test them all. This takes time and money

There is also more than just THC.
There is strains with low THC that makes you more high than some High THC .
There is alot more than THC that counts...

Then there is more.
How it is cured and so.

Do you vape ?

try vape high CBD strains at 180 celcius first.
Then next time, rise the temp to 210 atleast. this is where CBD activates.
Now you feel different effect i promise
To avoid very bad taste at high temp vape just take shorter intakes

In vape your THC goes to THC.A at 160 celcius , CBD dont activate at this low temp in a vape

You can activate THC.A in regular owen with 130celcius only if i remember right now.

If you do edibles with high CBD you need more heat to activate this

The reason is the general public is uneducated, and think the higher THC numbers are going to get them higher.

What we need to do, as connoisseurs, is educate them on the mono and sesquiterpenes that add to the high, not just get you stoned for 30 minutes.

All folks are doing now is looking at a graph or chasing a higher number without understanding that they all work together.

i read somewhere that in wash or Oregon u have to have a lab test prior to selling to a dispensary... some one took '6' buds from the same branch to '6' diff testing places, n the thc ranged from 21 to 29%... every testing lab had a diff result...

How times change
We used to get some weed or hash then enjoy finding out how potent it was by smoking it... sometimes being nicely surprised by the outcome. I think that’s why I like growing out seeds rather than clones, for a bit of mystery.

Testing everything Kind of takes the magic out a little - but maybe it’s just me