Replies to post #179748 on Medical Marijuana Inc (MJNA)

[Art Vandeley]

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

Response from Andrew Pham, M.A., B.S., Lead Scientist, SC Laboratories, Inc.




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

http://ahempworld.com/2014/11/hemp-oil-hustlers-report-response/

[Art Vandeley]

CannaVest Corp. and Project CBD Issue Joint Statement Announcing Cooperative Efforts to Benefit Industry

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — CannaVest Corp. (OTCBB:CANV), a leading manufacturer and distributor of hemp and Cannabidiol (CBD) based products, announces that it is begun cooperative efforts with Project CBD and its Director, Martin A. Lee, to ensure the cannabis/hemp industry and the consuming public is provided with accurate and meaningful information concerning CannaVest Corp.’s CBD offerings. Project CBD is a non-profit educational service dedicated to promoting and publicizing research into the medical utility of cannabidiol (CBD) and other components of the cannabis plant.

“We are pleased to be working with Project CBD and Martin Lee to ensure consumers and the marketplace are provided reliable data concerning our products,” said Michael Mona, Jr., President and Chief Executive Officer of CannaVest Corp. “We will commence our joint efforts immediately, and look forward to reporting the results of our cooperative activities to our stockholders and the general public,” continued Mr. Mona.

The full text of the Joint Statement is reprinted below:

JOINT STATEMENT

CannaVest Corporation (“CannaVest”) and Project CBD, a non-profit organization, along with its Director, Martin A. Lee, jointly issue this statement:

In a special report on the hemp oil industry published on October 14, 2014 titled “Hemp Oil Hustlers”, Project CBD reported that a consumer product, which is labeled as containing hemp oil and which was produced by CannaVest and then sold in 2013 to a distributor in 2013, tested positive for hexane and other solvent residues, none of which were listed as or intended to be ingredients in this product.

Since the October 14 publication, Project CBD corrected its report in some respects and posted those revisions on its web site. In an effort to provide accurate information to consumers and the public about the report and about CannaVest’s products, the parties have been in frequent communication with one another. As a result, both parties now agree that it is important to emphasize to the marketplace each of the following:

The Project CBD report did not conclude that CannaVest was responsible for the presence of solvent residue in the product samples.
The Project CBD report did not conclude that other products containing hemp oil manufactured by CannaVest contain residual solvents.
The Project CBD report did not conclude that the solvent residues reported by Project CBD were responsible for consumer complaints of adverse health events after consumption of the CannaVest product that was tested by Phytatech and Flora Research Laboratories.
CannaVest acknowledges that at the time of its October 24, 2014 report to its stockholders, it did not have in its possession important facts about the scope of the testing undertaken by Flora Research Laboratories, its testing procedures and equipment used when it tested the samples it received from third parties (not CannaVest) for Project CBD. Flora Research Laboratories’ goal was not to perform quality control testing on the samples nor to determine compliance with any established residue limits, but rather to conduct a phytoforensic examination of the samples to assist PhytaTech lab in investigating unidentified peaks, and completing its analysis. Now with a further understanding of the testing procedures, CannaVest withdraws its comments about the lack of quality of the analytical testing conducted.

Significantly, Project CBD and CannaVest have agreed to jointly test samples of CannaVest’s currently produced hemp oil product in order to determine the absence or presence of heavy metals and industrial solvents in that product. The parties are in the process of agreeing upon the selection and number of samples to be tested, the parameters of the testing, the lab that will conduct the testing, and the timing of the testing, which the parties intend to undertake shortly. The parties will make public the results of that testing.

Finally, both CannaVest and Project CBD acknowledge that this cooperative effort may be the beginning of a more extensive working relationship aimed at providing accurate and meaningful information to the cannabis/hemp industry and to the consuming public.

About CannaVest Corp.
CannaVest Corp. (OTCBB:CANV), located in Las Vegas, Nevada, focuses on the procurement and wholesale of the hemp plant extract cannabidiol (CBD), and the development, marketing and sale of end consumer products containing CBD, which is refined into its own PlusCBD Oil™brand. CannaVest resells raw industrial hemp product to third parties, acquired through supply relationships in Europe. Additional information is available from OTCMarkets.com or by visitingwww.cannavest.com.

CannaVest Corp.’s subsidiaries include: US Hemp Oil, LLC (www.USHempOil.com) that provides seed procurement, cultivation, processing, and production consultation, and equipment to support U.S. farmers, researchers and businesses to cultivate and process industrial hemp in the US; and CannaVest Laboratories, LLC (www.CannaVestLabs.com), that facilitates cutting edge research and develops nutraceutical and food products, containing cannabidiol (CBD) oil, and is the developer and manufacturer of CannaVest’s own award winning CBD Simple™.

FORWARD-LOOKING DISCLAIMER

This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements and information, as defined within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and is subject to the Safe Harbor created by those sections. This material contains statements about expected future events and/or financial results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Such forward-looking statements by definition involve risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of CannaVest Corp. to be materially different from the statements made herein.

LEGAL DISCLOSURE
CannaVest Corp. does not sell or distribute any products that are in violation of the United States Controlled Substances Act (US.CSA). The company does grow, sell and distribute hemp-based products and are involved with the federally legal distribution of medical marijuana-based products within certain international markets.

Corporate Contact:
CannaVest Corp.
2688 S. Rainbow Blvd., Ste. B
Las Vegas, NV 89146
Office: 866-290-2157