Another out-of-state entrepreneur opens marijuana testing facility in Maine
Courtesy / CATLAB
CATLAB, an acronym for Cannabis Analytical Testing Laboratory, recently opened in Eliot, one of only handful of marijuana testing labs in Maine. Pictured on the company’s Facebook page is the set-up for mycotoxin analysis.
Another out-of-state cannabis entrepreneur has landed in Maine to open a marijuana testing facility
CATLAB, an acronym for Cannabis Analytical Testing Laboratory, has opened in Eliot and began accepting medical use flower and products for testing earlier this month, according to a news release.
The lab’s president, Geoff Sylvester, said final audits by state agencies, including the Maine Office of Marijuana Policy, will be underway in the coming weeks, which could mean the lab would start accepting adult-use cannabis samples for testing by April.
The lab’s CEO, Guy Sylvester, runs an environmental lab called Absolute Resource Associates in Portsmouth, N.H.
In 2018, Guy Sylvester began fielding questions from colleagues and customers about the Portsmouth lab’s testing capabilities for cannabis. Maine voters had recently approved adult recreational use of marijuana, and as legislators worked on developing the framework and logistics of the law, it became clear that testing facilities were going to be needed to ensure product safety.
Sylvester — who has operated, built and grown analytical laboratories all over the U.S. since the 1980s — decided to open a laboratory over the border in Eliot, to specialize in cannabis testing. He began planning in late 2019 and spent time through the pandemic researching the market, finding a suitable building space, obtaining permits and licenses, purchasing equipment, and hiring staff for the new business.
"It's really about helping the cannabis industry provide a clean, safe product for the consumer," CATLAB Customer Relations Officer Jane Stratton said in the release. "If these products are being consumed by the public, we want to make sure that they are safe and accurately labeled.
"Our clients are the growers and producers, and if they can tell their customers that their products have been tested for safety and potency by a state certified laboratory, that goes a long way in establishing consumer confidence in this growing industry.”
Testing is mandated by the state to measure product potency and to verify that cannabis is clean from contaminants.
The lab’s arrival comes at a time when the industry is blossoming, with some of the newest sprouts rooted outside the state. But until now, only two other marijuana testing labs were operating in the state, in Kennebunk and Portland.
Other businesses that have flocked to Maine include Curaleaf Holdings Inc. (CSE: CURA), headquartered in Wakefield, Mass., which recently opened a medical marijuana dispensary in Bangor. Also this month, Framingham, Mass.-based MCR Labs received preliminary approval from the Gardiner Planning Board to construct a marijuana testing facility in the town.
Maine legalized cannabis for medical uses in 1999 and authorized adult recreational use in 2016. The open marketplace went live in October 2020.
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