Cannabis Testing

Solutions for Cabbabis Testing Image

As of January 2015, 23 states and the District of Columbia of the United States (U.S.) as well as Canada and some European countires have passed laws allowing cannabis to be used for medicinal purposes.

The recreational use of cannabis is legal in 9 states in the USA, Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington, plus the District of Columbia, and decriminalized in another 13 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands. Currently, laws regulating manufacturing practices and quality standards of Cannabis source materials are few or nonexistent and vary widely among jurisdictions. In order to alleviate patient concerns regarding the efficacy and safety of Cannabis-derived therapeutics, Cannabis quality control testing is mandated in many jurisdictions.

Merck's Cerilliant® brand pioneered commercially available certified solution standards and U.S. DEA-exempt solution standards of controlled substances, including cannabinoids. We offer the broadest selection of Cannabis Certified Reference Materials (CRMs) and analytical standards for cannabinoids, terpenes, mycotoxins, heavy metals, pesticides, and residual solvents.

Merck also offers a selection of tools and consumables for scientists performing analytical testing of Cannabis, included are:

QuEChERS reagents and SPE tubes for pesticide and other analytes.

Ascentis Express U/HPLC Columns for cannabinoids, terpines, pesticides and other analytes.

Supel Tox SPE cartridges to simplyfy mycotoxin analysis. More than 10x faster, simpler and more reproducible than immunoaffinity columns.

CANNABINOIDS

STANDARDS, CRMS, COLUMNS, AND SOLVENTS FOR CANNABINOID ANALYSIS

Cannabinoids are a class of psychoactive and nonpsychoactive compounds produced in the cannabis (marijuana) plant.

In recent years, these compounds have shown potential therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of pain, mood disorders, and inflammatory diseases. Since the concentration-to-potency of cannabinoids in Cannabis can fluctuate through various stages of plant growth and in different plant strains, it is imperative for patients that Cannabis cultivators ensure cannabinoid identity as well as consistent purity and concentration.1

Cannabinoids can be analyzed using multiple methods including separation by GC, LC, or UHPLC, and identification by MS. We offer a complete line of relevant products for cannabinoid potency testing including GC and HPLC columns, solvents, and certified reference materials (CRMs).
Included here are examples relevant to cannabinoid testing.