Every batch leaves a paper trail.
What the panel tests, what a pass means, and the four lines worth reading before anything else.
What is on the panel
Forty-seven separate analyses, run by an independent laboratory on every batch before it reaches a shelf. Grouped, they look like this:
| Analysis | Scope | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Cannabinoid potency | 11 analytes | THC, THCA, CBD, CBDA, CBN, CBG, CBC and their acid forms. The figure printed on the label is total THC after decarboxylation, not THCA raw. |
| Terpene profile | 21 terpenes | Myrcene, limonene, caryophyllene, linalool, pinene, terpinolene, humulene and fourteen more, by percentage. |
| Pesticides | 66 screened | The full state action list. A detection above the action limit fails the batch outright. |
| Heavy metals | 4 elements | Lead, arsenic, cadmium and mercury. Cannabis is a bioaccumulator: it takes up what is in its soil. |
| Residual solvents | ~20 screened | Relevant to extracts. Butane, propane, ethanol and the rest, against category limits. |
| Microbials and mycotoxins | Screened | Aspergillus species, total yeast and mould, E. coli, salmonella, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A. |
| Moisture and water activity | Measured | The two numbers that predict whether a jar will hold its aroma or grow something. |
Reading a certificate of analysis
A COA is a dense document and most of it is there for the regulator, not for you. Four lines carry nearly all the useful information:
- Total THC, not THCA. Raw flower carries THCA, which becomes THC when heated. A lab reporting THCA alone will show a number several points higher than what you will actually experience. Look for "Total THC".
- The top three terpenes. These predict your evening far better than potency does. Myrcene-dominant tends heavy; limonene-dominant tends bright; caryophyllene brings pepper and body.
- The pass/fail block. Pesticides, metals, solvents, microbials. You want the word PASS and nothing else. A "not detected" is better than a number under the limit.
- The date and the batch number. A COA belongs to one batch. If the number on the jar does not match the number on the certificate, the certificate is for something else.
What happens when a batch fails
It does not go on sale, and it does not go to another retailer. A failed batch is quarantined and destroyed under the state's own disposal rules, with the manifest filed. That is the expensive part of this standard and the entire point of it.
Which laboratories
Three independent, state-licensed laboratories, rotated so that no single lab's calibration becomes our house style. We do not own any of them and we do not tell them what we hope to see.
