Case of Legally Defensible Cannabis Data with Known and Documented Quality

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Analytical Cannabis

Speaking at the Analytical Cannabis Expo East Online 2020 back in October, Dr Harry Behzadi, President, CEO and Chief Technology & Innovation Officer at AccuScience Laboratories reviewed the life of a sample from sampling the cannabis plant, to custody, transfer to the laboratory, log in, preparation, and final analysis. Abstract: Since any scientific data may potentially be used in civil or criminal litigation, it should be judged as acceptable for use as admissible evidence. All potentially relevant data needs to originate and remain secured under a litigation hold, in order to protect that data and all its content and associated files, from inadvertent deletion or alteration. In order for data to be defensible and of known and documented quality, all sampling, custody and analysis activities must be performed according to technical standards and operating procedure. All processes must be clearly outlined and fully documented. As indicated in the adage: “say what you do and do what you say,” a break in the trust would result in a crack in data defensibility. Additionally, detailed and pristine record keeping must be stressed throughout all sampling, custody and analysis activities; failure to keep proper records is a common allegation in enforcement actions and a cause for lack of data defensibility. In this presentation we are going to review the life of a sample from sampling the cannabis plant, to custody, transfer to the laboratory, log in, preparation, and final analysis. As a final point, the QA/QC procedure and reporting the data process will be addressed. We will also exam and review the verification process for cannabis legally defensible data.