How should I package my samples for testing?

Package each sample separately. Plastic baggies work great for flower, kief, trim, and edibles. A plastic container with a lid is best for waxy or sticky products, such as hash and some extractions.  Syringes can be used for low-viscosity (runny) extractions.

Note that for flower samples, the individual 1-gram sub-samples should be aggregated into ONE container or bag. Please do NOT package and label the flower sub-samples into individual containers. See our FAQ article on sample sizes for more information.

As a general rule, we try not to add heat to samples – heat can degrade some chemicals, and we are trying to test the sample as-is. Also, plastic shards from cutting or snapping plastic casing creates both a sample contamination and staff injury risk. For this reason we prefer the sample to be delivered in a way that we can easily access it without cutting or heating – tl;dr please don’t deliver distillate samples or similar in syringes.

We ask that you bar code your samples with the inventory ID listed on the manifest.  Ensure your bar codes can be scanned and verify they encode the entire sample ID. An inexpensive Dymo printer is a good option for printing bar codes that scan easily.  If you are not able to bar code your products at the time of pick up or drop off, be sure to write the inventory ID clearly on the sample package.

The following information is required on your sample labels per WAC 314-55-101:

1. The certificate number and name of the certified lab receiving the sample;
2. The license number and registered trade name of the licensee sending the sample;
3. The date the sample was collected; and
4. The weight of the cannabis, usable cannabis, or cannabis-infused product the sample was collected from.