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enthusiasm for the increased knowledge of cannabis.
Green Leaf Labs Talks To OCC
Rowshan Reordan-Loney, owner and founder of Green Leaf Labs in Portland was able to chat with OCC about her company and the services they offer. Green Leaf Labs is one of the premier analytical labs in Oregon, if not the country, and we thought she can provide excellent insight to her lab and testing, in general. OCC: What does Green Leaf Labs do and why did you start the company?
RR:
We are an analytical laboratory serving Oregon’s cannabis community. We test all forms of cannabis from flower to food items and everything in between. We serve any Oregon Medical Marijuana Program card holder. Rowshan Reordan-Loney, Owner of I was inspired to start Green Leaf Labs. Image: Paul Loney the company when a Law friend of mine, who is terminally ill, told me about getting some medicine that made him sick. I felt the need for more legitimacy and transparency in the cannabis industry. Science and hard facts seemed the most logical method to protect those who are under-protected and bring light to that which has been underground for far too long.
Cannabis Connection
OCC: What kind of equipment does your lab employ in its analysis of cannabis?
RR: We have multiple types of equipment that we use depending on what we are testing, how the cannabis was produced and its intended end use. We utilize GC-MS, GC-FID, GC-Headspace Analyzer, and HPLC. Our goal is to give results that are the most accurate for the end user, the patient.
Proper testing requires sophisticated equipment. Image: Green Leaf labs
options that are currently not required by Oregon State Law. We have multiple pieces of different instrumentation to ensure that we can give our customers and patients accurate information for the specific type of item they will consume.
OCC: The law in Oregon requires that a cannabis testing lab's practices and procedures follow either ISO 17025 standards or NELAC TNI standards, does your lab meet either of those? Image: Green Leaf Labs
RR: Being a pioneer takes many hours of dedication and hard work. Our Laboratory Director had extensive experience in analytical testing and was able to apply his skill set to create new methods and validate them for cannabis testing. It was a long process and we went through many hurdles. It is difficult to start a new business where there are no predecessors to learn from. However, going through that process has allowed us to give our customers superior service.
RR: We are in the process of meeting those standards. For example, they require a Quality Assurance program. We always have a minimum of two chemists on staff. This allows us to have a quality control chemist who can verify results and catch any possible mistakes.
OCC: What have been some of the biggest hurdles you faced?
RR:
While the intent of the testing rules requirement is to protect the health and safety of OMMP patients, the rules failed to address enforcement mechanisms for laboratories. This
in Oregon had even heard about testing cannabis. We were one of the first cannabis testing laboratories established in the nation.
Image: Green Leaf Labs
OCC: Why should dispensaries be required to test their cannabis? Image: Green Leaf Labs
and to comply with Oregon State Law.
OCC: So, I know you have an office in
OCC: So, you have teamed up with the
Portland, do you have any other locations?
personnel necessary to effectively run and operate this type of lab?
Roseburg. You can find our contact information for both locations at www.greenleaflab.org.
OCC: What testing services do you offer? RR: We offer Oregon compliant testing, which include potency, mold, and pesticide screens. We also offer a myriad of other cannabis testing
The 10th annual Hempstalk was held a Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland. The event, which had been held at Kelly Point Park for the past few years, was free to the public with a 10 dollar suggested donation accepted.
equipment, how did you know where to begin when you started the company?
RR: We were established in 2011, before many
RR: Yes, we have another location in
By Oregon Cannabis Connection
OCC: A testing lab uses a lot of complicated
OCC: When was that?
RR: To protect patient’s health and well-being,
Hempstalk Held in Downtown Portland
RR: Having properly trained personnel with the skills required to run an analytical laboratory is imperative to success, validity and accuracy. We have nine employees at the laboratory that have a multitude of skill sets and educational backgrounds, as well as
The Green Leaf Lab main facility in Portland at 1 2025 NE Marx St. Image: Green Leaf labs has created a “wild west” for testing, where anyone can open a laboratory without any minimum standards or basic requirements. It has been frustrating to watch the unfolding of Oregon’s unregulated laboratory system, since we have always been committed to the highest standards and others are not. We hope that this legislative cycle will be able Cont. on Page 5
Having the event downtown was an exciting thought, with hopes of a Seattle Hempfest type event, but the reality was much different. The venue was small, though very picturesque, and separated into two separate sections where the public walkway runs through the park. Security guards confiscated lighters, cigarettes, and searched bags and purses (but if you had loaded up pockets, you got right in...go figure) The intent was to have a “sober” Hempstalk, which did not go over well at all with the crowd. Since it was a free event, nobody felt too slighted by the harsh rules, and plenty of people sneaked a toke when security was not around. Projecting a responsible image was the chatter amongst some, but disappointment with the rules was the norm. The music was good, as usual, with Mack and Dub and the Smoking Section Image: Keith Mansur, OCC performing Sunday night. Mad Dabber also was around, playing his marijuana tunes, and then the alter-ego, Justin James Bridges, made an appearance on the Green Goddess stage to play his flavor of blues. The vendors were passing out plenty of swag, and dispensary booths dotted the perimeter of Cont. on Page 6
Cannabis Connection
Oregon News
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-An OCC Correctionto address these issues and remedy them, as everyone in this industry only wants what is best for OMMP patient’s safety and well-being. OCC: What kind of costs are involved in outfitting a lab properly, say just in equipment costs alone, which I assume is one of your biggest investments? RR: One piece of equipment can range from tens of thousands of dollars up to hundreds of thousands of dollars. It is a large financial investment to open a legitimate cannabis testing laboratory that has multiple pieces of testing equipment and properly trained staff.
OCC:
The poorly operated labs and their low rates must make operating your lab difficult?
RR: We have a strong customer base who believes in supporting a laboratory, such as ours, that has a high standard for testing. They want real numbers and real results. That being said, the current price for testing is not realistic for a regulated and legitimate testing market. I am concerned that the cannabis industry will become accustomed to expecting the current prices, which are not reflective of a legitimate and regulated testing industry.
for everyone involved.
OCC: Is there anything else about Green Leaf
In the Aug/Sep 2014 issue of OCC we ended our article "Problems With Oregon Cannabis Testing" with questions to ask potential testing labs, and also included a few quick reference points with each question.
Labs that you want our readers to know?
RR: We are committed to the safety and wellbeing of patients. The existence of Green Leaf Lab came from patient inspiration. We are dedicated to serving our community and assisting in any way we can. We always have staff to assist in answering questions and clarifying information whether it is regarding testing processes or current legislative issues. We are proud and happy to announce that we recently submitted 3 samples for a national proficiency test and passed all three tests. It is exciting to see that our standard of excellence has been confirmed on a national level. I would like to thank our amazing staff for their dedication and commitment to quality. Learn more about Green Leaf Labs at www.greenleaflab.org.
In the fourth question, "What type of equipment do you use for pesticide screening?", we mentioned "(A Gas Chromatograph is needed for accurate measurement at the levels required)". We were incorrect and should have printed, "A Mass Spectrometer is needed for accurate measurements at the levels required."
What do you think can be done to fix the problem, and who do you see doing the fixing? RR: The problem of unregulated laboratories is being addressed and can only be fixed through the legislative system.
OCC: How do you think Measure 91 will affect the testing labs if it passes in November?
RR: There will be a new set of rules that laboratories will have to follow. Hopefully, the issue of regulation and standardization for OMMP testing will be solidified in this legislative cycle. If this is the case, it will surely make the transition to a regulated market easier
Great news from the Low O! The long serving, anti-marijuana, loud mouthed, canna-bigoted, money wasting, lawsuit prone, arrogant, narcissistic, employee hating, over-zealous, blow hard Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters announced on October 2nd his retirement amidst a pitiful losing campaign to be re-elected to his
It is a bit more complicated than that, and the chemists at Oregon Growers Analytical offered a better explanation, which we provide below. Also, in the Oregon Dispensary Connection, we provide readers with a list of questions to ask a lab about testing, and pesticide testing specifically.
From OG Analytics: A validated testing method has not yet been published for the determination of trace levels of pesticides in cannabis. However, a method known as the AOAC 2007.01 method has been developed and validated for thousands of agricultural products. It seems reasonable that this method is an appropriate starting point for the determination of pesticides in cannabis. The AOAC 2007.01 method involves using an organic solvent to extract pesticides from the sample. This crude extract is then subject to various wellestablished steps to remove plant co extractives such as chlorophyll, plant fatty acids, and plant waxes. It is important to remove these compounds since they interfere with the downstream detection methods. The cleaned extract is then analyzed using both gaschromatographic (GC) and liquid chromatographic (LC) separation followed by massspectrometric detection. It is important to realize that both GC and LC are necessary because neither technique is capable of chromatographing and detecting all pesticides.
OCC:
By Keith Mansur Oregon Cannabis Connection
For instance, most carbamates and fungicides cannot be chromatographed on a GC because they breakdown in the heated inlet. In contrast, although theoretically all pesticides can be chromatographed using LC, some types of compounds (e.g. organochlorines) cannot be detected using LC technologies. Equally important is the realization that GCs and LCs can be configured to use different types of detectors. It has been universally realized that the only detectors capable of conferring the accuracy of identification of pesticides are mass spectrometers. Massspectrometers allow one to identify low levels of pesticides even in very complex extracts that are typical of agricultural products. This is very important in minimizing false positive and false negative results.
fourth term. Winters said to KDRV News in Medford, “I’m confident that the transition to my successor will be straightforward because of the systems that are currently in place. Therefore I fully endorse and support our new Sheriff, Corey Falls, and will be at his disposal for any guidance if necessary.” Winters recently made news, once again, by firing deputy Sheriff Bob Sergi, one of two opponents who ran against him in the Jackson County primary election last May, The announcement came as a surprise to everyone, including his opponent Corey Falls, Ashland's Deputy Police Chief. Falls, who is heavily favored to win in November, intends to continue his campaign as planned. “What I’ve campaigned on and what we’ll continue to do is getting out in the community, being open and responsive to our citizens, identifying problems collectively to solve problems, and working within our organization to have open lines of communications to do a great job,” Falls said in a interview with KDRV News.