Page 42 - SFHN0218 final SP.qxp_SFHN 0608 Friday 5.0

Dear Readers:

South Florida Hospital News & Healthcare Report welcomes you to
Cannabis News Florida, a feature of our print publication, website and
e-newsletters. Its purpose is to provide pertinent educational information from
leading authorities about medical and business developments in the medical cannabis
industry. We also intend to provide both national and international information
which will affect the medical cannabis business in the State of Florida.

Florida’s Source for Medical & Business Cannabis Developments

EVIO Labs: Providing Comprehensive Cannabis Testing in Florida

BY DANIEL CASCIATO Each MMTC can open as many as 25 dis- years of experience. These chemists use
pensaries per license. validated methods to test cannabis prod-
Last fall, Christopher Martinez, Co- “Our goal is patient safety first. We ucts, according to Martinez. Every test
Founder and President of EVIO Labs want to ensure clean and safe cannabis to report is checked by a lab director to
Florida, set out with a vision to bring patients of Florida,” Martinez says. “For ensure all results are valid and certified.
clean and safe cannabis to the patients of efficacy and patient safety, physicians In addition, in Florida, an applicant for
Florida. EVIO Labs Florida is the first and their patients want to know what’s licensure renewal must also include a
medical cannabis testing laboratory with inside the products and what they can record of contracts for services with a
ISO 17025 accreditation. Its parent com- expect.” veteran business enterprise like EVIO
pany, EVIO, Inc. (OTCQB:EVIO) is a life Here’s how the process works: Labs which is registered with the Florida
sciences company focused on analyzing When processing marijuana, a medical Office of Supplier Diversity.
cannabis as a means for improving qual- marijuana treatment center must test the Martinez says that EVIO has some of
ity of life. The company provides analyt- processed marijuana using an independ- the most advanced technology in the
ical testing services, advisory services ent 3rd party medical marijuana testing industry which allows them to turn
and performs product research in its laboratory before it is dispensed. around results in a short amount of
accredited laboratory testing facilities. The medical marijuana treatment cen- Christopher Martinez time—sometimes as fast as 24 hours.
EVIO Labs Florida provides state-of- ter must contract with a marijuana test- Martinez and his team opened the
the-art testing services for licensed ing laboratory such as EVIO Labs, to per- fungicides, plant growth regulators, and 6,000-sq.ft, $3 million cannabis labora-
cannabis producers and distributors to form audits on the medical marijuana other compounds. Using LCMS technol- tory in Davie in September and currently
help them stay compliant with state reg- treatment center’s standard operating ogy (Liquid Chromatography Mass are building a new 3,000-sq.ft lab in
ulations. Their lab in Davie, FL is pow- procedures, testing records, and samples Spectrometry) with new ion focusing Gainesville set to open by March 2018.
ered by Shimadzu with $1.3 million of and provide the results to the department technology ensuring the maximum num- To further help physicians and
the most advanced technologies available to confirm that the marijuana or low- ber of pesticides (over 600) are detected patients, Martinez and a partner also cre-
for testing cannabis. EVIO provides com- THC cannabis meets the requirements of and positively identified. ated an app, MJ buddy which helps
prehensive cannabis testing for cannabi- this section and that the marijuana or If a grower’s soil or water is contami- patients determine what kinds of medical
noid and terpene profiles, microbiologi- low-THC cannabis is safe for human nated with heavy metals, these toxic ele- marijuana are right for their medical con-
cal and pesticides contamination, resid- consumption. ments will be passed into the plant and dition. Physicians can also use the app as
ual solvent, heavy metals, mycotoxins, The lab utilizes two cannabis analyzer on to the consumer. EVIO Labs testing well.
water activity and moisture content. for potency, using High Performance protocols provide MMTC's the opportu- MJ Buddy takes data from thousands
“The Florida DOH, Office of Medical Liquid Chromatography (HPLC) to nity to learn if their medicine is contam- of patients and presents the information
Marijuana Use mandates that medical quantitate cannabinoid profiles for 12 inated with toxic heavy metals. EVIO to doctors and research facilities.
cannabis must be tested by an independ- cannabinoids including THC, CBD, Labs uses Inductively Coupled Plasma Physicians can take that data and adjust
ent 3rd party lab in order to validate Delta-8 and Delta-9. Mass Spectrometry (ICP/MS) to screen dosage, method of delivery, and strain
these medications are safe for human It also tests for pesticides which are samples for metals such as lead (Pb), recommendation to the patients to best
consumption,” says Martinez. commonly used in cannabis cultivation. arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), and mercu- suit the medical condition, age, weight,
Currently, there are 13 licensed This is potentially dangerous and pose ry (Hg). This extremely sensitive tech- symptoms, and metabolism of each
Medical Marijuana Treatment Centers health risks—the greatest danger occur- nique allows cultivators, patients and patient.
(MMTC) across the state. Four MMTC’s ring with chronic exposure to pesticide physicians to assure that the levels pres-
have brick and mortar locations, 3 residue which is toxic at high levels and ent in the product is at safe levels. For more information, visit
MMTC’s are dispensing via delivery only harmful at lower doses. As a result, EVIO EVIO Labs uses an experienced and https://eviolabsfl.com.
with five others authorized to cultivate. Labs will test products for insecticides, skilled team of chemists with over 20

Subscribe to...

SOUTH FLORIDA HOSPITAL NEWS &

HEALTHCARE REPORT today!

Subscribe online at

www.southfloridahospitalnews.com

or call 561-368-6950

42 February 2018 southfloridahospitalnews.com South Florida Hospital News