The passing of the 2018 Farm Bill created new possibilities for the growing, selling and testing of hemp oil/CBD and hemp-based products. While hemp has been removed from the controlled substances list, which means it is now legal to grow and sell in most states within the US, there are still strict guidelines when it comes to the testing of hemp to ensure that all products adhere to the legal (and safe) requirements.
This has resulted in many manufacturers spending large sums of money on testing their hemp oil/CBD and hemp-derived products before it’s sold commercially. Recently, the hemp testing company Cannalysis has made headlines after announcing that it has raised $22.6M in funding for new research.
Cannalysis is a California-based, state licensed hemp testing laboratory that also secured ISO certification recently and since then has been involved in the testing of various strains of hemp and hemp-related products. The company’s main service includes tracking CBD and hemp-derived products across the supply chain and provide data management along with other related services to their clients. The company also provides real time tracking of hemp strains so that customers can get third party verification on the potency of the hemp dosage.
While the service that Cannalysis provides is absolutely crucial for brands in the hemp industry to maintain a high level of quality and safety of their hemp oil/CBD and hemp-derived products, being able to raise $22.6M in funds is a big deal for any company.
The funding came from CanLab, which is the largest testing service in the US. Since the amount of hemp in any given product is what determines its price, testing variance of hemp extracts and various strains in products is crucial for pricing, and is a problem that the hemp industry has faced for quite some time. The lack of proper tools and equipment for testing has led to much confusion regarding various hemp-derived products.
Cannalysis plans on using the funds to improve several areas of its existing service. First on the list of improvements that the company plans to make is to double the size of the company headquarters so that it’s able to cope with the growing demand for hemp research and testing. The company is also looking forward towards expanding its presence in the hemp market and wants to expand its services to other states in the country. But, importantly, the company has major plans on continuing to scale its technological capabilities. The main areas that it’s concerned with right now is data-automation testing services and advanced robotics technologies so that the company is able to provide better results with its testing.
Since the use of robotics has been critical towards improving the precision in testing hemp products for potency, heavy metals, pesticides, terpenes and more, the funding will certainly prove to be beneficial for the development of new and better procedures and will play a significant role in the company’s successful future.
–PuraPhy Staff Report
Photo courtesy CARP Growers