Cannabis lab reports: how to verify a document with the issuing laboratory

What document have you received?

Distinguish a complete report from an extract, translation or screenshot. Record the laboratory name, report number, issue date, version and available pages or attachments. Mark missing details explicitly. Where necessary, request the complete version supplied by the laboratory. Keep the file you received and label any translations or annotations separately.

Contact the issuer independently of the document

Find the named organisation’s official website and contact details independently of the file. Identify the laboratory location if the organisation has several sites. Use a verification portal if the official site identifies one that covers your report. Otherwise ask the laboratory how to submit an enquiry through its official channel. A logo or QR code alone does not establish the file’s origin.

Check accreditation separately from document origin

If accreditation is claimed, check the body and relevant scope. The Swiss directory lists organisations accredited by SAS. If anything is unclear, ask which site and test were covered at the time of reporting. A scope entry concerns competence for a specific activity. Establishing whether the laboratory issued the file is a separate task.

Check the specific scope of accreditation ↗

Copyable enquiry to the laboratory

Check with the commissioning party which information you may share. Ask the laboratory about an appropriate channel before sending confidential attachments. Replace the details in brackets.

Subject: Request to confirm test report [number]

Hello,

For our purchasing review, we have received [file name, page count, complete report or extract], bearing report number [number], issue date [date] and version [version or not stated].

Can you confirm whether your laboratory issued this report and whether the file we received corresponds to the issued version? Has it been corrected or replaced? Please tell us what you can confirm and which references or authorisations you require. Once permission to share is established, we can supply the file through your designated channel.

Thank you, [Name, organisation, contact details]

Record precisely what the reply confirms

Note the date, channel and scope of the reply. Confirmation that a report number exists may leave the contents of the forwarded file unresolved. If a replacement is identified, request it through the confirmed channel and label the older version in your records. A limited or absent response leaves some or all of the origin question open. Ask the original commissioning party to make the enquiry if needed.

Apply the confirmed document to the purchasing decision

Identify the tested sample, its link to the offered batch and the parameters covered. If the goods have changed, assess whether the results remain relevant to their current condition. Keep the report and confirmation with the other purchasing records. Confirmation of origin alone does not establish product safety or lawful marketability.

Read the confirmed report and its limits ↗

Connect the report, sample and offered batch ↗

Review producer and product documentation together ↗

Check whether the report still describes the goods ↗