Qure Analytical Labs has been appointed as one of the DTIC’s four official testing sites that have to be used by any entity requesting departmental funding. The DTIC released new guidelines for the medical and industrial cannabis sectors on 23 January 2025, specifying THC and CBD requirements. Accompanying any funding application has to be a lab test on products by Afriplex in Paarl, NAFS in Centurion, Vinlab in Stellenbosch and Qure in Cape Town..

Cannabiz Africa publisher Brett Hilton-Barber spoke to Qure’s Brenda Marx (pictured above) about being an officially recognized cannabis lab by the DTIC and the significance of the new guidelines.

BHB:  How significant is it that product testing is being introduced as a prerequisite for government funding? 

BM: It is hugely significant. Think of the booze industry, think of the tobacco industry, think of the food industry. If you buy an alcoholic beverage, you want to know how strong it is, so you know how much of it you can handle. For cigarettes the same, some people prefer very light smokes and others prefer the heavier stuff. Food needs to be tested for safety - are there any contaminants that can be bad for you? Also, many people with sensitivities need to know how much sugar or carbohydrates or sodium, for example, they are consuming. 

We have had so many cases where customers thought they had a CBD product, and couldn't understand why it got them stoned, only to find out after testing that it had significant amounts of THC in it. Customers should demand that cannabis products are tested for potency and safety. I think it's a great thing that the government is supporting testing and people are learning that cannabis is not ‘one thing’ and there are many kinds of cannabis and cannabis products.

Qure has tested a number of products labelled “CBD” and found zero CBD and varying, but substantial, amounts of THC. Government raising the importance of testing will hopefully create a world in which people question labels – and demand accurate information about what they are consuming.

BHB: Will this in any way overcome the problem of different labs yielding different results on the same samples?

BM: We need to understand what is meant with different results. If you are going to test your blood sugar, one pathology lab will give a result of the same blood sample (e.g. 5.2 mmol/L), another pathology lab will give a slightly different result (e.g. 5.0 mmol/L), and another also something different (e.g. 5.4 mmol/L). That doesn't mean that any of them are wrong, it's just because there are uncertainties in measurement. 

Measurements are not absolute, and there are so many things that play a role in test results. However, if two blood sugar tests give results very close together (e.g. 5.5 mmol/L and 5.3 mmol/L) and the third is much higher or lower (7.2 mmol/L or 3.8 mmol/L), then you will question the validity of the one that's not agreeing with the other two. 

As part of any testing lab's quality system, they should (and we do) do regular comparisons with other testing facilities to ensure that everyone is getting results that are within acceptable limits of each other. If customers do find discrepancies with results from two different labs, it is best to let them know so that they can go back and review their quality checks and be able to adjust or correct what went wrong and put measures in place to avoid such discrepancies from happening again. 

To bring this in line with cannabis, take a flower sample that one lab got 15% THC, and the other 16% - that's not a big difference in terms of cannabis. However, if one lab gets 15% THC and the other 25%, then there's a very significant difference and the labs should work together to find out which result is closest to the truth.

A very interesting case is water content testing, which could be a topic of discussion on its own. Depending on the methodology, there are various results possible for the same sample, depending on the definition and why the information is required. The pharmacopoeias have standardised methods that are easy for all labs to follow. By using these prescribed methods, they should all get results that are reasonably aligned with each other. 

I am part of the Technical Committee that is proposing standards and methods for South Africa. I am looking forward to seeing how these will ultimately be adopted here, as we are indeed in a unique, beautiful, and exciting situation.

BHB: What service/advices does Qure offer people interested in developing cannabis-related product? 

BM: We can and do guide customers through the whole product development process. We assist with cultivation, ensuring plant health, extractions, product formulations, interpretation of test results, and product optimisation. We currently help customers to understand or interpret their test results and from there we aid them with product formulations. Cannabinoid tests are vital for understanding the potency and options a plant offers. Terpene testing gives extra information about the plant. Solvents tests help customer to refine extraction processes, density tests help to quantify the amount of cannabis needed to put into a product.

And the safety tests – heavy metals, mycotoxins, microbials are essential for ensuring that the product is safe to use – whether it is being smoked or put into a cookie or used medicinally.

BHB: How is the cannabis landscape in SA looking for you in the year ahead? 

BM: At the moment everything is still very confusing. Nevertheless, despite the confusion, people are testing because they are realising the benefits in knowing how potent their products are and that they are safe to use. The government's recognition of the importance of testing will be a huge boost to the market.

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