News 
Market Data 
Discover
Replies to post #178387 on Medical Marijuana Inc (MJNA)
11/24/14 9:36 PM
11/24/14 9:45 PM
...The Truth About “Hemp Oil Hustlers”...
Recently, a report was published titled “Hemp Oil Husslers” claiming several solvents were found in a product produced by CannaVest Inc. A response has been release by Andrew Pham, M.A., B.S., Lead Scientist, SC Laboratories, Inc. in response to such allegations.
The report, which is allegedly confirmed by Flora Research Laboratories, ” show the presence of hexane, pentane, butane, and ethyl acetate in the RSHO Gold samples produced by CannaVest Inc. The article goes on to claim that “these are all class one solvents, the most dangerous and toxic class of solvents.” Open the response in a new window
SC Laboratories, Inc.
100 Pioneer St.
Suite E
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
October 30th, 2014
AHempWorld.com
17775 N. 66th Lane
Glendale, AZ 85308
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL ONLY
Dear Ted Burke,
This correspondence is in response to certain comments recently published in a report entitled
“Hemp Oil Hustlers”. It is our intent to clarify certain scientific inconsistencies claimed in this
report.
On page 19 of “Hemp Oil Hustlers”, there is a reference to test results allegedly confirmed by
Flora Research Laboratories that show the presence of hexane, pentane, butane, and ethyl acetate
in the RSHO Gold samples produced by CannaVest Inc. The article goes on to claim that “these
are all class one solvents, the most dangerous and toxic class of solvents.”
First, while it is true that class one solvents are considered the most dangerous class of solvents,
it should be noted that none of the compounds listed above are considered by the United States
Pharmacopia (USP) to be Class I. Hexane is considered a Class II solvent, while pentane,
butane, and ethyl acetate are Class III, the least dangerous class of solvents. Secondly, the USP
has set acceptable exposure limits for Class II and Class III compounds. Hexane has an exposure
limit set at 290 parts per million (ppm), while all Class III solvents have a limit set at 5000 ppm.1
Furthermore, there are critical flaws in the methodology employed by Flora Research
Laboratories regarding these hemp oil samples. The headspace analysis employed on the hemp
oil encountered critical analytical issues that would qualify as serious confounding factors in
their analysis. There were major residue impurities on their injection needle that would lead to
carryover between samples. Even more perplexing is the fact that in their attempt to wash out
the nonpolar hemp oil out of their needle, they used triplicate runs of water, which would not
dissolve the hemp oil matrix at all because of its poor solubility in such a polar solvent.2
In addition, because the solvents were identified via mass spectrometry, they were able to
qualify, but not quantify the presence of these solvents. Indeed, there is no evidence to suggest
that these residual solvents were present in amounts excess of what is mandated by the USP. In
fact, since May of 2014 CannaVest has been testing each batch of their starting material for their
hemp oil with SC Laboratories, where we use GC-FID with Headspace Analysis to quantify
exact amounts of Class II and III residual solvents down to the ppm level. Nearly all of the testing samples sent in have quantified the total residual solvents at levels below detection limits
(10 ppm).
The quality control and safety testing of medical cannabis products in this industry is of utmost
importance to us at SC Laboratories. It is important that claims regarding the presence of
dangerous substances be substantiated with validated scientific data.
Sincerely,
__________________________
Andrew Pham, M.A., B.S.
Lead Scientist
SC Laboratories, Inc.
1 www.usp.org/sites/default/files/usp_pdf/EN/USPNF/generalChapter467Current.pdf
2 CBD Product Headspace Study, ©2014 Flora Research Laboratories
11/25/14 5:38 AM
