A certificate of analysis is a single sheet of paper — sometimes two — and it is the most important thing in the dispensary. Almost nobody reads it. I have asked budtenders at four different North Dakota locations to show me a COA, and the fastest anyone has produced one was six minutes. One location told me they could email it. They did not. I followed up twice.

This is not acceptable. But it is fixable, and it starts with patients understanding what they are looking at and why it matters.

What a Certificate of Analysis Is

A COA is a laboratory report documenting the chemical composition and safety testing of a specific batch of cannabis product. In North Dakota, licensed testing laboratories analyze samples and report results to the dispensary and the state. The COA is your evidence — the only objective, quantified evidence — of what is actually in the product you are purchasing.

It is not a nutrition label. It is more like a pharmaceutical assay report translated (sometimes poorly) for consumer use.

Potency: The Numbers Everyone Looks At

The potency section reports cannabinoid concentrations, typically as percentages for flower or milligrams per unit for edibles and tinctures. The numbers you will see most often:

Total THC is calculated as (THCa × 0.877) + delta-9-THC. The 0.877 factor accounts for the molecular weight lost during decarboxylation. This is the maximum THC available if all THCa converts — which, in practice, it rarely does completely. Think of it as a ceiling, not a guarantee.

Total CBD follows the same logic: (CBDa × 0.877) + CBD.

Minor cannabinoids — CBG, CBN, CBC — may appear if the lab tests for them. Not all labs do. Not all states require it. Their presence, even in small amounts, may influence your experience (see my previous article on the entourage effect — the hypothesis has merit, even if the marketing has outrun the evidence).

What potency does not tell you: how the product will feel. Two products at 20% THC with different terpene profiles and minor cannabinoid ratios may produce meaningfully different experiences. The potency number is necessary. It is not sufficient.

Terpene Profile: The Numbers Almost Nobody Looks At

Terpenes are reported in percentages or milligrams per gram. Common terpenes you may see include myrcene, limonene, beta-caryophyllene, linalool, pinene, and humulene. Each has documented biological activity in preclinical research, and collectively they contribute to what industry shorthand calls the “strain's character.”

A product with 1.2% total terpenes and a diverse profile is, in my assessment, more interesting than a product with 0.3% total terpenes regardless of its THC number. If terpene results are absent from the COA, that does not mean the product has no terpenes — it means the lab did not test for them, or the dispensary did not make the results available. Either way, it is information you are missing.

Safety Testing: The Numbers That Actually Protect You

This is where my thirty-three years of quality control make me particular.

Pesticide screening tests for residues of insecticides, fungicides, and growth regulators. North Dakota maintains a list of banned and action-level pesticides. A passing result means detected residues fell below state-defined thresholds. An absent pesticide section is a problem.

Residual solvents apply primarily to concentrates and extracts. Solvents like butane, propane, and ethanol are used in extraction and must be removed to safe levels. The COA should report specific solvents tested and their concentrations relative to acceptable limits. If you are purchasing a concentrate and the COA does not include residual solvent testing, ask why.

Microbial testing screens for organisms including total yeast and mold, coliforms, and specific pathogens like Aspergillus and Salmonella. For immunocompromised patients — and some medical cannabis patients are exactly that — this section is not optional. It is critical.

Heavy metals — lead, arsenic, cadmium, mercury — accumulate in cannabis plants from contaminated soil or growing media. Testing should report concentrations against established action levels.

What to Do If Something Is Missing

If a COA is incomplete, unavailable, or difficult to obtain, you have options. Ask the dispensary staff directly. If they cannot produce it, contact the dispensary management. If the COA is missing entire sections — say, no pesticide results on a flower product — that is worth questioning. It does not necessarily indicate contamination. It may indicate a testing gap. But you are entitled to know.

A complete COA is not a luxury. It is the minimum a patient should expect from a regulated market. That piece of paper is someone's promise — the lab's, the grower's, the dispensary's — that what is in the container matches what is on the label, within a quantified margin of error.

Read it. It was written for you.