Tampa company gets green light to test cannabis and hemp

TAMPA — Method Testing Labs has won approval to begin testing hemp and cannabis throughout the state.

Method is third-party testing facility that checks for safety and efficacy for producers. Among the items it will look for are heavy metals, pesticides, mycotoxins, microbials and residual solvents.

The lab, which is only one of five allowed to test cannabis and hemp in Florida, has “an entirely digitized sample process, using a customized laboratory management system and patient portal” according to a statement.

Tampa-based Method was founded in 2020 by cannabis industry veterans Keith Browning and Rob Radke. In addition to being licensed in Florida, Method is a full-service National Hemp Testing Laboratory and is ISO 17025 accredited.

The accreditation means the it meets the “high technical competence and management system requirements that guarantee your test results and calibrations are consistently accurate,” according to Information Security Management System.

“Having led businesses as a cannabis operator, we understand the business and our customers’ needs and built our laboratory from the ground up based on that experience,” Browning, the CEO says in a statement.

“We’ve set up multiple testing laboratories, bought third-party lab services, experienced the challenges in the supply chain, and we know the need for transparency of results and patient safety.”