In order to give Lift readers a better understanding of the Quality Assurance and testing practices that go into producing medical marijuana under the MMPR, we’ve enlisted the services of Emily Kirkham, the lead analytical chemistry consultant at Signoto, in Vancouver, BC. A professional chemist with a B.Sc. in Chemistry from McGill University, she brings over 15 years of experience working in analytical laboratories, with an emphasis on quality control procedures and method development. Signoto provides quality control consulting services to the Canadian medical cannabis industry.

Over the coming months, Signoto will be helping us cover specific topics like cannabinoids, terpenes, microbiology, aflatoxin, heavy metals and pesticides, all of which (save terpenes) licensed producers are required to test for under the MMPR regulations. In the first installment, Emily will be giving a basic background on the equipment and methodology for all of these various components. 

Patients and medical practitioners need to understand what exactly is...