MEDICAL POT'S POTENCY DIFFICULT TO PIN DOWN FOR COLORADO DISPENSARIES

When the results came back from the lab, Ean Seeb, an owner of the
medical-marijuana dispensary Denver Relief, had every reason to be thrilled.

One of the store's most prized marijuana strains had tested at 29
percent THC - the psychoactive component of marijuana - a result that
seemed to confirm the strain's formidable punch.

But, for Seeb, the number also seemed to confirm another hunch:
There's something screwy with medical-marijuana potency testing in Colorado.

"We have one of the highest tests ever that was performed at one of
these labs," Seeb said, "and we don't believe it."

That's because, a year earlier, the same lab had tested a sample of
the strain - from a different plant but grown using the same methods
- - at a more pedestrian 15 percent THC. And tests of the strain at
other medical-marijuana testing labs in the state produced results
across the map.

In dispensaries around Colorado, questions have emerged about the
value of the measurements the labs produce - measurements that have
been hailed as key to bringing scientific precision to medical marijuana.

No one - including Seeb - is abandoning the goal of a system that
provides detailed analysis of a strain's potency and chemical makeup,
which medical-marijuana advocates say will help patients make
better-informed decisions. But dispensary owners and patients have
begun to note that the current system is less than perfect.

"We're not using the same standards from lab to lab," said Frank
Quattrone, the owner of Pure Medical Dispensary in Denver and a
supporter of testing.

Different techniques among the state's four labs account for only
part of the variations, said Buckie Minor of Full Spectrum Labs, the
state's first cannabis-testing lab. Potency can vary within marijuana
crops, individual plants and even between subsections of the buds.

What shouldn't change, Minor said, is the ratio of the different
chemicals in the plant, which Minor said is most important for
patients picking strains.

"When people get different potency values, they start to think our
testing methods are off," he said.

The debate comes as state lawmakers are poised to give legitimacy to
medical-marijuana testing labs. A provision in House Bill 1043, which
adjusts several medical-marijuana laws, gives explicit permission for
dispensaries to provide samples to labs for testing.

"We're actually creating a research and development piece that's the
first of any state," Rep. Tom Massey, the Poncha Springs Republican
who is sponsoring the bill, said during a debate last week.

The subject is likely to get more attention this week, when the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws, or NORML,
holds its annual conference in Denver. Among the panels scheduled for
the conference is one titled, "Medical marijuana: It's not just THC."

That panel features a representative from a testing lab in
California, where a handful of labs recently announced the formation
of a trade group to create standardized practices.

"The testing methodology should all be the same," said Robert Martin,
a founder of the Association of California Cannabis Laboratories. ".
. . People will lose faith in the industry if they can't depend on
the results."

Seeb said he would like to see a similar association started here.
Until then, he said, he will continue to harbor suspicions about the
test results, no matter how impressive they are.

"We recognize the importance of (testing) and we want it," he said.
"It just isn't there yet."