Study Data of 90,000 Cannabis Samples Raises More THC Potency Questions

A recently published peer-reviewed study in PLOS One helped show that terpenes may be a better classifier than potency alone. Analytical Cannabis did an excellent job explaining the results in their article. 

As one of Leafly's founding "certified labs" (one whose data has been vetted and found to be accurate and reliable), PSI Labs is grateful to have been able to contribute our data to this important study.

As many of us know, the cannabis industry has placed a myopic focus on THC, when those results are often inflated, inconsistent, and as we now know from a study of over 90,000 samples, terpenes seem to be a more reliable and consistent classifier of strains.

Carl Sagan said "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence". Out of over 90,000 samples tested, flower samples with potency reported at 30%+ seemed to be in the 99th percentile. 

Why is it then, that consumers commonly find such statistically uncommon samples on dispensary shelves all across the country?

Will standardizing test methods on a national scale help combat the issue of potency inflation? Federal legalization or decriminalization? More transparency and accountability on the part of testing labs? All of the above?

There's no right answer - but more transparency and accountability is critical, as is an ever-expanding body of publicly available, peer-reviewed cannabis data.

Learn more about the importance of transparent and trustworthy testing labs.