Over $2B Illicit Cannabis Removed with LightLab 3 Cannabis Analyzer

NEW LONDON, N.H., Sept. 20, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- LightLab 3 Cannabis Analyzer by Orange Photonics, is helping law enforcement rapidly identify and remove cannabis plants and products from the illicit market. Year-to-date LightLab 3 has been involved in enforcement actions that have resulted in the confiscation of over $2B of illicit plant and product.

Across the United States, regulators and law enforcement task forces are mobilized to identify illicit cannabis operations. As regulation increases, illicit cannabis is robbing local governments of much needed tax dollars. Licensed cannabis businesses welcome the move, as the efforts seek to reduce the competitive illicit supply, stem the environmental impacts of illicit cultivations and remove unsafe products from circulation.

"Any region that has a drug enforcement operation should use the LightLab Cannabis Analyzer." says Detective Kile Henrich of Josephine County Sheriff's Department. "LightLab saves time on having to take confiscated cannabis to a crime lab, a process which can take 30 days versus minutes for a test on-site. It saves months and prevents future lawsuits."

LightLab 3, developed and manufactured by Orange Photonics, is a field-deployable, cannabis analyzer that adapts the existing laboratory technology standards for use by trained non-technical personnel. The Law Enforcement version of LightLab 3 offers both a rapid presumptive and quantitative analysis of the psychoactive compound THC. THC is found in adult use cannabis in high levels, and found in low levels in legal hemp. Canines and visual inspection cannot differentiate between hemp and adult use cannabis.

"LightLab covers the bases to make sure what you have is either marijuana or hemp." Detective Henrich explains. "People have cannabis and claim it's hemp. With LightLab we go to the site, take a sample, test it right there and show them that it's not hemp, it's marijuana. We don't want to destroy anybody's hemp."

About Orange Photonics
Founded in 2015, Orange Photonics is based in New Hampshire, USA. Orange Photonics develops and manufactures lab-grade analytical tools that are easy-to-use, rugged and accurate. For the past six years, Orange Photonics instrumentation has been used in mission-critical work by local, state and Federal law enforcement organizations and departments of agriculture, in addition to licensed commercial cannabis business operators. LightLab 3 Cannabis Analyzer is a purpose-built instrument, based on HPLC technology, designed for non-technical users. LightLab measures 12+ cannabinoids in 9+ sample types including adult use and hemp cannabis plants and extracted products. Orange Photonics' analytical instrumentation supports quality control, process optimization and compliance.

SOURCE Orange Photonics