Stopping Lab Result Forgeries with Evelyn Alvarez

CannMed Coffee Talk

Evelyn Alvarez is currently the Quality Assurance Director at Encore Labs. She has ten years of experience working on analytical instrumentation and in regulated lab environments including work on EPA and OSHA methods. She received a degree in Environmental Science with research experience on pesticides. Evelyn was recently quoted in a Refinery29 article that revealed an unfortunate element of the unregulated Delta-8 THC market. That being that some Delta-8 THC producers will falsify lab results, also known as certificates of analysis, (COAs) they post online. We cover that topic and others in our discussion, including: How COAs differ from state-mandated compliance tests How the lack of regulatory oversight of Delta-8 THC products puts consumers at risk Red flags consumers can look for when reviewing COAs The recent increase in Delta-8 THC products How the process of synthesizing Delta-8 THC from hemp may introduce contaminants that most labs are not testing for and more Thanks to This Episode's Sponsor: Encore Labs Encore Labs is the premier cannabis testing facility licensed in California with an ISO/IEC 17025 certification. They offer state-wide comprehensive analysis to cultivators, infused product manufacturers, distributors, providers and dispensaries not only for regulatory purposes but also to characterize the unique aspects of your cannabis. Learn more at encore-labs.com Additional Resources Encore Labs websiteI Took A Delta-8 Gummy Before Going On A Run. Things Got Weird — Really Weird (Refinery29 Article)CannMed ArchiveCannMed Community Board (Facebook Group)Healthcare Provider Medical Cannabis Research Study .accordion { background-color: #7dc243; color: #FFFFFF; cursor: pointer; padding: 15px; width: 30%; border: none; text-align: center; outline: none; font-size: 15px; transition: 0.4s; } .active, .accordion:hover { background-color: #7dc243; } .panel { padding: 0 10px; display: none; background-color: white; overflow: hidden; } View the Transcript Good afternoon, Evelyn, thanks for joining us. Hey, thank you for having me. Very excited to talk about these very important topics for consumers. Yeah, about that. So, you were quoted in a pretty wild article that came out last month on the website Refinery29. I find the story concerning in a lot of ways. But let's just start, I guess, with the general premise. So, I don't know if you want to kind of explain how you got involved in all of this or if you want to if you want to do that first. Sure. Yeah. And to some of the concerns that it raises. Yes, so a while back, we got an email to our lab and Molly, the journalist from Refinery29 was reaching out, initially just asking some very straightforward questions about a Delta-8 product that she was going to write a review piece on. When I started digging into the sample information, I realized that the reports were very clearly fabricated, just completely made up. When I reached back out to her with that information, she was pretty blown away as well. And that just kind of started a good back and forth between her and I, which ended up turning into this great piece by her. I mean, she really went down the rabbit hole and spoke to many different people in the industry, you know, from researchers to regulators. It turned into being a good highlight for everyone, you know, for consumers, especially in terms of safety. Yeah, exactly. So. So basically, Molly had taken this Delta-8 THC gummy and had a pretty intense experience. Right? More intense than she was expecting or that was advertised. And so, she went to the website and looked at the COA that was listed there, as many of these products have. And she looked at it, everything looked good, less than 0.3 THC, no residual solvents, everything looks good. But she goes one step further and actually reaches out to the lab. How? How common is that,