OM Herbicide testing is essential to ensuring the safety of cannabis samples by determining herbicide levels suitable for consumer use. Herbicides, agricultural products designed to eliminate unwanted vegetation, can be toxic to plants and pose serious health risks upon human exposure. These risks include a slowed heartbeat, liver damage, fatigue, reproductive issues, and various cancers.

Conducting this test not only protects consumers from potential herbicide exposure but also assists growers and manufacturers in adhering to regulations by identifying and removing herbicides that might cause compliance issues.

The testing procedure begins with dissolving cannabis products in a solvent, followed by a clean-up process involving initial solid-phase extraction. Subsequently, the sample is chemically manipulated (derivatization), then concentrated and subjected to instrument-based testing. Liquid chromatography equipped with a triple-quad mass detector system is the preferred instrument for this purpose, facilitating accurate detection and quantification of herbicide levels in cannabis samples.

Compliance

Despite the lack of specific California state regulations regarding herbicide detection or acceptable action levels, conducting this test remains critical for ensuring the safety of cannabis products.

Sources: 

https://www.thermofisher.com/us/en/home/industrial/mass-spectrometry/mass-spectrometry-learning-center/gas-chromatography-mass-spectrometry-gc-ms-information.html