Thomkal Vwalaa
Member
This is a surprise? As I've said before, in this industry, you will be hard-pressed to find a legitimate business. Nothing but hacks...even the "real companies" aren't legitimate by typical standards.
I've read SS and spurr both mention this.
We all agree that the MMj industry is messed up. BUT we still can go forward with science regardless.
A look at Sam's setup will reveal the issues with cannabinoid testing. It's more than just the impure standards (which I was unable to obtain 10 years ago as an undergrad chem student secretly investigating cannabinoids.) These machines need constant attention. CBD and THC have way different retention times, that is why SS has two columns.
Of course everything depends on the parameters. If Mr. Skunkman would post his parameters I could die a happy man. I'll tell him right now that I sat up all night while draining some tanks waiting for CBD to come out... that took over two hours with my column/parameters and I had two varieties and had to double check... and got me expelled from college. D'oh. (8(l) But THC was pretty quick, and easy to get a giant peak with multiple solvents.
The large difference in retention times means that for many labs, the ones with single column GCs, the process of separating and analyzing both THC and CBD takes a long time. They are limited, science is limited, standards are limited, machines are limited, lab techs are limited, nothing will ever be perfect.
Sam can run 96 samples per evening with his 2 column auto sampler, the single column auto samplers (I assume) can run less. I for one would like to see more data on terpenes from the labs. They are already running them through the GC. I identified at least a half dozen terpenes in dj's blueberry, small peaks compared to THC, but quantifiable for anyone as the standards are on every campus.
Spurr has some interesting ideas about TLC and spot density tests for terpenes, something for the home chemist.