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Complimentary Virtual Event

April 2, 2019
12:00 Noon - 4:00 PM EDT

2nd Annual Cannabis Labs Virtual Conference

CannabisIndustryJournal.com is proud to present the 2nd Annual Cannabis Labs Virtual Conference. This complimentary collection of webinar presentations will help attendees better understand some of the more technical aspects of starting and operating a laboratory.

We will take a deep dive into:

Cannabinoid and terpene testing
What to look for in ISO 17025:2017
Pesticide testing
Starting a lab in a new market.

Attendees registering for this complimentary series of webinars will get access to four veterans of the cannabis lab testing industry, who are available for Q&A after each presentation. In addition to getting the opportunity to chat with these subject matter experts on April 2nd, a recording of the presentations will be made available to all who register.

Practical and educational information from experts in the cannabis lab testing industry, all on the same day and all from the comfort of your office, lab or home. Want real inside knowledge on the cannabis testing industry? Sign up today!

Who Should Attend:

Cannabis Laboratory personnel
Lab managers, Chemists, Microbiologists
Investors of cannabis labs, those looking to start a lab
Clients of laboratories including: growers, processors, dispensary managers
Stakeholders in the cannabis lab testing market.

Agenda

12:00 PM - Welcome & Introductions
Aaron Biros, Editor, Cannabis Industry Journal - Host and Moderator

12:05 PM - Pesticide Testing: Methods, Strategies & Sampling
Charles Deibel, President & CEO - Deibel Labs, Inc.

Pesticides represent the number one area for Batch Failures in the US Cannabis market. These are concerns not only for consumers, but are a very big concern for cultivators and manufacturers of cannabis products. remediation of the pesticides, once they are in the product are not always feasible From the Lab level, they are also the hardest test to run in the laboratory, even one equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. The best instruments on the market are very expensive and there are no standardized methods, meaning lab to lab variability has happened.

What are the Pesticides in Cannabis and are there any that are the "main concerns" or ones that stand out as particularly damaging?
What is a basic breakdown of the testing and methods used for pesticide testing?
What are the best strategies for the sampling of cannabis products?

12:50 PM - Beat the Budget Blues: Tips to Financing Cannabis Testing Instrumentation - Quantum Analytics Technology Spotlight
Lauren Armstrong, Marketing Director, Quantum Analytics

1:05 PM - Building a Lab in an Emerging Market
Chris Martinez, Co-Founder & President, EVIO Labs FL

Will present a discussion of the genesis of EVIO Labs Florida, how to start a lab in a new market
Challenges in how we navigated changing regulations in a state with newly legalized cannabis
Expanding a lab to a second location - logistics, hiring, training, consistency.

1:50 PM - Using a Lab Information System for Data Integrity and Efficiency - CGM Laboratories Technology Spotlight
Sandy Laughlin, Sales Enablement Manager, CGM LABDAQ

2:05 PM - Cannabinoid & Terpene Testing: Methods, Strategies & Standardization
Dr. Cindy Orser, Chief Science Officer, Digipath Labs

Appreciation of "measurement uncertainty" in cannabis testing
Standardization of testing methods is a high priority
Terpenes are the distinguishing chemicals in cannabis sensory perception and chemotaxonomy

2:50 PM - Cannabis Quality Infrastructure: An Evolving Landscape - A2LA Technology Spotlight
Roger Brauninger, A2LA Biosafety Program Manager

3:05 PM - Benefits of Accreditation to the ISO 17025:2017 Standard
Jane Weitzel, Independent Consultant

The ISO/IEC 17025:2017 standard is now being used to accredit cannabis testing laboratories. From this presentation you will learn the key new aspects of the standard. This includes risk-based thinking. Many aspects of this risk approach require the use of measurement uncertainty. This means the measurement uncertainty must be adequately evaluated. You will be introduced to evaluating and using measurement uncertainty.
The 2017 standard emphasizes conflict of interest and impartiality. Procedures and practices to achieve impartiality will be shown. This reduces the risk of potentially damaging leaks of information or the risk of people not working to the best interests of the laboratory and its clients.
The 2017 standard is a valuable and useful business tool that can save the laboratory resources, effort and money. Are you doing too much testing? Are you doing too little testing? When you evaluate the measurement uncertainty you can use it to learn the steps in your test method that need enhancement to reduce the risk of making mistakes. You can also use the measurement uncertainty to focus on the significant steps and stop wasting time on steps and activities that are insignificant.
These benefits of laboratory accreditation will be demonstrated with examples from the cannabis industry.

3:50 PM - Overcoming the Challenges Associated with Pesticide Analysis of Cannabis & Hemp and Understanding the Matrix Effects and the Impact of Various Clean-Up Strategies - PerkinElmer Technology Spotlight
Toby Astill, Ph.D., Market Manager for Cannabis & Hemp, PerkinElmer

4:00 PM - Adjournment

SPEAKERS

Charles Deibel
President & CEO
Deibel Labs, Inc.

Charles Deibel is the President and CEO of Deibel Labs, Inc. an internationally recognized corporation of 15 testing labs in North America for over 50 years, serving the Food, Beverage, Personal Care, and Cannabis Industries. As an industry advocate, Charles has testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on important food safety concerns. He worked with the Department of Justice to help shape the legal case against Peanut Corporation of America and testified as an expert witness during the trial. As a microbiologist, Charles uses his industry experience and scientific knowledge to aid clients in Food Safety Plan development and recovering from bacterial remediation events. Charles is a Certified HACCP Alliance Lead Instructor, a recognized Process Authority, a PCQI Lead Instructor, and performs cGMP / HACCP system development for clients of Deibel Labs.

Chris Martinez
Co-Founder & President
EVIO Labs Florida

Chris Martinez is the co-founder and president of EVIO Labs FL. He has enjoyed a 10-year long career as a surgical device consultant and entrepreneur. Christopher focused on training and educating physicians on the latest technologies and innovations available for orthopedic surgery. Mr. Martinez received his BS in Health Services Administration from Barry University where he graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Dr. Cindy Orser
Chief Science Officer
Digipath Labs

Drawing from over 25 years of experience innovating in both academia and private industry, Dr. Orser holds twenty issued US Patents, numerous foreign patents and has authored forty-six peer-reviewed publications. She was awarded a PhD from the University of California, Berkeley, where she discovered the molecular basis of bacterial ice nucleation to be a single genic trait. She received her BS in Botany from Montana State University in Bozeman, and was also a tenured professor of Biochemistry and Bacteriology at the University of Idaho.

Ten years ago, Dr. Orser founded Big Sky Biosystems Inc. In her role as Chief Scientific Advisor, she provides scientific, technical, regulatory, and strategic affairs consulting for the diagnostics and cannabis industry. She also cofounded and served as CSO of ASDx Biosystems, Inc., a Boulder, Colorado company that developed and validated rapid diagnostic tests for Homeland Security in collaboration with the CDC to identify the biothreat agents ricin and botulinum toxins. Prior to that for five years, Dr. Orser served as Corporate Senior Scientist and Head of the Biodefense/Biotechnology Initiative at Areté Associates, a DC physics-based company and leader in the design, integration and operation of in situ and remote sensing instrumentation where she invented an assay to measure protein-misfolding. Following that, she co-founded Adlyfe Inc., serving as the Director of R&D, where she was responsible for the management of all aspects of bringing to market an innovative blood diagnostic for misfolded proteins associated with prion-mediated neurodegenerative disease as well as a lyophilized human platelet product for thrombocytopenia, which was spun out into a new company, Cellphire Inc.

As CSO at DigiPath since 2014, Cindy has been creating a replicable cannabis testing environment with validated standard operating procedures to ensure cannabis and cannabis-based products are safe once they reach the dispensary shelves. She is also promoting strain authentication through combining chemoprofile data analytics with strain genotyping to distinguish cannabis drug type strains currently being grown in the global cannabis market.

Jane Weitzel
Independent Consultant

Jane Weitzel has been working in analytical chemistry for over 40 years for pharmaceutical and mining companies. She is currently a consultant specializing in laboratory management systems and ISO/IEC 17025, an auditor, and an educator. She works with the cannabis, food, environmental, mining, and pharmaceutical industries.

Jane has applied Quality Systems and statistical techniques, including the evaluation and use of measurement uncertainty, in a wide variety of technical and scientific businesses. She has obtained the American Society for Quality Certification for both Quality Engineer and Quality Manager. Jane is a lead assessor for a few accrediting bodies.

Jane is chair of the pharmaceutical sub-committee for AOAC Accreditation Guidelines for Laboratories (ALACC), the Guidelines for Laboratories Performing Microbiological and Chemical Analyses of Food, Dietary Supplements, and Pharmaceuticals – An Aid to the Interpretation of ISO/IEC 17025. Jane was appointed to the Chinese National Drug Reference Standards Committee and attended their inaugural meeting in Beijing. Jane is a member of the USP’s Expert Committee on Statistics and the Expert Panel on Method Validation and Verification For the 2015 – 2020 cycle.

Lauren Armstrong
Marketing Director
Quantum Analytics

Lauren Armstrong is marketing director for Quantum Analytics based in Foster City, California. She has 14 years of experience in managing B2B marketing and communications for small businesses and Fortune 500 companies. Her experience driving marketing strategy spans across a range of high-tech industries, including robotics, clean technology and life sciences. Lauren graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics.

Sandy Laughlin
Sales Enablement Manager
CGM LABDAQ

With more than 30 years of laboratory experience including bench and lab management, research and development for an analyzer manufacturer, and product management, Sandy Laughlin offers a unique customer-focused insight into laboratory workflows and quality. Sandy's experience with CompuGroup Medical includes leading the future development of CGM LABDAQ LIS driven by feedback from current users and sales support. Sandy is currently the Sales Enablement Manager for CGM Laboratory Division. She supports the sale team to ensure they have the required tools and product knowledge to be successful. Sandy enjoys sharing laboratory best practices with customers and the industry.

Roger Brauninger
A2LA Biosafety Program Manager

Roger Brauninger has worked at the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) since 1999. Mr. Brauninger has conducted numerous management system assessments, evaluates other assessors in this role and is an APLAC and IAAC peer evaluator. In his role as Biosafety Program manager, his focus is on developing and maintaining accreditation programs in the Life Sciences with emphasis on microbial and chemical risks to people, animals and the environment. He is A2LA’s point person for interacting with organizations working with food and drug safety, human and animal anti-doping, biological and chemical threat agents and since 2014 for issues related to cannabis testing.

Toby Astill, PhD.
Sr. Business Manager for Cannabis & Hemp Markets

Dr. Toby Astill is PerkinElmer’s Market Manager for Cannabis & Hemp. Dr. Astill has a Ph.D. in Chemistry and has spent the last 10 years working in Science, Technology and Business Roles for leading technology companies. For the last 7 years he has worked for PerkinElmer, based in locations across the West Coast of Canada & US. Dr. Astill is now focused on driving PerkinElmer's global cannabis and hemp initiatives; including but not limited to new product development, market & industry research, collaboration agreements with customers, application content development and field marketing initiatives.

Aaron Biros
Editor-in-Chief
CannabisIndustryJournal.com

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