MCA Analytical Laboratory Instrumentation

The Maryland Cannabis Administration (“MCA”) is an independent unit of the State government. The MCA holds exclusive authority to regulate cannabis licensees throughout the State. Al. Bev. Can.§ 36-201.  The MCA is required to establish a state reference laboratory for the testing of cannabis and cannabis products.  The State reference laboratory supports the testing needs for cannabis and cannabis infused products submitted from the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Cannabis Commission (“ATCC”) to prosecute unlicensed vendors.

ATCC has increased surveillance for unlicensed vendors of cannabis and cannabis products, resulting in an increase of three times the amount of samples submitted for potency testing in the laboratory.  To support this increased sample load, the laboratory is requesting the purchase of an additional Ultra-performance liquid chromatography with a photodiode array detector and a single quadrupole mass spectrometer (“UPLC-PDA-SQ”) comparable to the instrument that the laboratory already owns.  Requesting an instrument with similar specifications in the laboratory will reduce the amount of time for the lab to perform a verification of the method on the new instrument.