Heavy metal testing is essential for cannabis due to various contamination sources such as fertilizers, pesticides, water, and even the soil in which the plant is grown. Under California state guidelines, labs currently test for four metals: cadmium, lead, arsenic, and mercury. This testing is critical as consuming heavy metals can lead to severe health issues, including headaches, muscle and joint pain, shortness of breath, nausea, and, with prolonged exposure, potentially cancer and other life-threatening diseases.
The testing process is conducted using Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). This method begins by digesting the cannabis sample to convert heavy metal salts into an easily ionizable form. The digested sample is then ionized under high temperature and a magnetic field. The resulting ions are directed into the mass spectrometer, which determines their mass-to-charge ratio, qualifying and quantifying them accordingly.
