Template:Past, Present, and Future of Cannabis Laboratory Testing and Regulation in the United States/Future of cannabis regulation, testing, and market trends/Lab testing

5.2 Lab testing

A January 2021 report by Global Market Insights (GMI) found the U.S. cannabis testing market to be valued at about $2 billion in 2020, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.4 percent through 2027. At a global level, GMI's October 2021 report found the total market value to be somewhere around $3 billion in 2020, with a CAGR of 21.1 percent through 2027, affected positively by medical application growth, growth in research institution investment, and cultivator and laboratory growth, negatively by a lack of uniform regulations and testing standards. A more conservative number was offered by Coherent Market Insights in July 2022, indicating a global market valued at $1.66 billion in 2022, potentially growing to $4.5 billion by 2030.

As for advances in cannabis lab testing, Kuzdzal et al. of Shimadzu envision a future where improvements in standardization, quality control, and research will shift what is tested and how it's tested:

The cannabis industry and cannabis testing are in their infancies. As the need for better quality control continues and standardization is introduced, it is likely that lower limits for the various cannabis contaminants will be established and regulations will be introduced. Mass spectrometry will likely play a greater role in quantitation as detection levels are lowered and confirmatory tests are required. The health benefits of terpenes present in cannabis will also provide a fertile area of scientific research. CBD, CBG and other compounds appear to have a synergistic relationship with each other as well as with various THC forms and terpenes. This field needs much more investigation to determine mechanisms of action, bioavailability and health benefits.

Lab testing of cannabis should continue to provide more exact and useful results as methods and standards continue to evolve. Disparity of results between two labs for the same sample are continuing to narrow as states increasingly add testing requirements to their cannabis legislature. Those testing requirements are increasingly based off a growing body of recommendations, guidance, and standards developed by the likes of the Americans for Safe Access Foundation (ASAF), American Herbal Pharmacopoeia (AHP), American Herbal Products Association (AHPA), Association of Official Agricultural Chemists (AOAC), American Oil Chemists' Society (AOCS), and the Association of Public Health Laboratories. Already, the groundwork for standard methods is being created by the AOAC and ASTM International, which continue to work on standardizing the determination and quantitation of cannabinoid concentrations, residual solvents, and pesticide amounts. Proficiency tests such as the Emerald Test, which allows multiple labs to test an anonymous sample and compare results, should also continue to drive improved performance from cannabis testing labs.

Finally, the role automation can play in cannabis testing labs is increasingly being discussed. This includes the implementation of environmental data loggers, direct-capture balances, sample preparation automation, and inventory tracking tools. Of course, software tools like the laboratory information management system (LIMS) also play a role in smoothing out workflows and reducing errors. However, automation solutions may move from something that is casually worth investing in to something that is critical to maintaining competitive strength, particularly if the U.S. government makes cannabis legal at the federal level. As more competitors enter the market, having automation to ensure quality and performance could be vital to labs who may have been around early on without automation.

5.2.1 Consolidation

Another potential trend to keep an eye on with these testing laboratories: consolidation. Currently there's not a lot of data on the extent consolidation has affected the number of cannabis testing labs or how they operate; the industry is arguably still in its infancy. Regardless, mentions in press and practical examples demonstrate that consolidation is a real concern for the industry, if not now in the future. Suggestion of such came from Steep Hill Halent's CEO David Lampach in late 2013, anticipating "huge consolidation in general and fewer companies as a result." GreenWave Advisors, CannaSafe Analytics, and Kramer Holcomb Sheik have also lent their voices to this idea.

In the fall of 2019, some discussion of California's laboratory testing market suggested consolidation could still occur. However, at the time a majority of the state's labs were not anywhere close to full capacity, a potential indicator of California's market not reaching fully saturated potential. Additionally, the likelihood of new labs opening up will be low due to the lack of saturation. This doesn't necessarily preclude lab consolidation, but it may be possible that labs with buying power could still consider purchasing other labs in order to gain a bigger piece of the pie. In some cases—where it's actually legal—licensed producers are acquiring laboratories. In Canada, for example, several producers have acquired licensed cannabis testing and research laboratories to bring them in-house, citing greater flexibility and more security for proprietary testing and research. Even in the U.S., consolidation among not just labs but also growers and distributors is not uncommon and may continue as the industry further continues to evolve.