KXAN released an article titled Austin cannabis company may be able to help Texas law enforcement differentiate between pot, CBD. And it has people up in arms in the cannabis community. With the way the headline is written versus what the article is about, understandably so to an extent. Let’s get some basics about this company out of the way to fully understand what is going on.
Ionization Labs (IL), if you already do not know, has a system called CANN-ID. This is a system which not only gives a user of their technology the data needed to determine potency of cannabis compounds in a given batch of a strain of cannabis, but identify and catalog the variance between their compounds as individual strains of cannabis. This means that the technology and system in place will be cataloging the data it obtains from a specific strain, and be able to compare it to a different strain. Even possibly be able to differentiate between a strain grown in one location given it’s growing medium, versus a strain of the same lineage/name being grown in a different location/growing medium. Blue Dream grown in Colorado will be different from Blue Dream grown in Illinois, in its chemical makeup.
This is helpful in the manner of being able to correctly identify a strain of cannabis, along with attaching side effects to said strain in a manner that Leafly does, so that people using cannabis as medicine can get the proper strain they need for the ailment they seek to correct.
As Ionization labs states on their site:
“Our technology is designed to be easy to use, improve accuracy, reduce cost and drastically collapse the time associated with obtaining reliable and repeatable chemical data. The result is greater profitability for our clients. We empower our clients and partners with fast, accurate and unprecedented precision for cultivation, extraction and product development. The data from our solution provides a competitive advantage and enables you to make informed decisions at a cost effective, quick and accurate pace that meets your
production timeline.”
This is beneficial for all the parties involved. If you are a harvester or a dispensary, your product can be tested in under an hour and a determination can be made of wholesale quickly. If you’re a patient you’ll be able to know that you are getting the exact strain you need for consumption while knowing it doesn’t have any unwanted chemicals. And if you are law enforcement, not only will you know if the substance is hemp or cannabis, but is the substance hemp or k2/spice, cough syrup, etc. This will help keep people responsible with their product and it’s creation. In that latter group, this saves citizens from headache as Zach Miller explained on Facebook. Mr Miller faces 3 felonies in Florida after being pulled over with his CBD products in his possession and the now inadequate roadside test coming up positive for THC.
From the article that KXAN posted recently, nothing in the article states that the lab has reached an agreement with any law enforcement agency in Texas or any other state for that matter. The article essentially highlights that law enforcement agencies will be able to utilize the technology that IL has created. Some have even called for IL to refuse to help the police in this situation, despite in a larger chunk of Texas it will be helping anyone involved in a situation such as Mr. Miller’s from going to jail unwarranted.
Texas NORML and Texans For Responsible Marijuana Policy both advocated during the last legislative session for 3rd party testing to be part of the bills put forward. Part of adult responsible use would require responsible policy, and that would would require third party testing being used. This ensures safety for the public from not only a bad/poorly made product, but also keeps law enforcement agencies from creating their own in-house solution that could be kept secret from the public and is corrupted by the state. And that corruption happens too frequent. With the results of the legislative session, this was bound to be an issue, and IL just happens to be a group that law and code enforcement can look to for independent testing.
Not only that, but if the state were to request these services that are already being provided to other individuals, IL would need a strong legal case to keep from being required to provide service when needed. It sadly boils down to an obstruction of justice (despite the notion that jailing people for this plant is nowhere near actual justice, even Governor Abbott was willing with Joe Moody to end that) by refusing to aid in a case where the only reason being given for denial is “I do not want to help.” Remember that in the eyes of the state, you’re either with them or against them. It is a rare case where you can be both as in this situation. As well, if it’s not IL, it will definitely be someone else trying to do the same thing but with less of a motive of actually helping the industry and more of making a quick buck.
Of course IL seeks to earn revenue. To even get this type of needed commodity for the consumer into production would require investors with capital that expect to get some sort of return. It’s a bit hypocritical for some people to rail on a company making money in the cannabis industry where there is a solid need, while said people refuse to be actual activists for the cause because they are too busy working a job to earn the same money. That’s not everyone commenting, but you know who you are if you were doing this (as of writing this article the post where this was addressed, was deleted).
In the end, be mindful that the person that could possibly be handling this, is ethically geared more towards helping you to make their living, than not giving a damn about you, your product, or whether the state wants to run their own corrupt ring of testing in house to make their living.
