as a courtesy im gonna respond. People dont usually answer questions like that from people with 20 posts... I would suggest becoming part of the family. and im sure if you stick around you will learn plenty!
look up Steep Hill labs and use their Quantacann. It is pre programmed and takes 3 minutes to sample it was created jointly by Harborside dispensary and is good to go. You could set up shop tomorrow with a quantacann and it's doesn't "ruin" the sample.
don't underestimate the complexities of running a still in your backyard yard! and don't underestimate people.
Ive been looking for info on starting a lab, but have not found much info on equipment and such. Can anyone point me in the right direction?
Rob - while i agree the miquiztli doesn't seem to have solid footing on opening a lab and i also agree that people testing medical cannabis "should" have proper training and a stack of degree's, In my personal experience if your willing to get hexane poisoning from making the controls or simply have some friends in the industry you'll be welcomed with open arms. trained in how prepare, stage, and run a test. how to print the results and package them for the customer ( the dispensary).I hope I'm not coming off as too harsh here, but anyone looking to run a testing lab should have a strong chemistry background & probably heavy botany. A person with this background would not ask such questions on a pot forum. It isn't necessary. You already know what you need through your training.
We're talking about a lab which will be asked for the public's trust as I assume this is for cannabis which will be sold to the public through a legitimate outlet. Sure, someone with little to no training can probably figure out how to get some of the equipment working. But it doesn't make the person qualified to run a testing lab whose results the public will be asked to trust.
If you're looking for a job doing this type of thing, typically you'll need a BS in chemistry plus a few years work experience just to get your foot in the door. Many will ask for a MS or PhD. You'd definitely need a PhD or some equivalent to oversee the lab. A startup lab will require lots of experience from the start - more than it sounds like the OP has. I'm not trying to bust balls. But I'm not gonna sugarcoat either. I think an honest question deserves an honest answer.
In time I hope the testing can be more homogenized and stable but with all the players running their own games and little regulation the patients can only trust and cross their fingers. What this reminds me of is the decades before the FDA got powerful, lots of marketing with transparency of practices.I know 2 labs and they are both ran and owned by chemists its not something you can just throw money at and know what your doing to any tests your conducting .its advanced testing for trace elements like pestisides and mold traces etc .its just not bumping a dump in a tube and incinerating it to get a gas count and a chromatic reading .its a whole lot more .if your going to do it as a state certifiable lab testing sight you better get a real chemist on board .aloha cls