Methodology

Every record on this site comes from a state cannabis regulator's own compliance-testing files. Before a package can reach a retail shelf, a sample is sent to a licensed lab and tested for potency and for contaminants — pesticides, microbials, heavy metals, residual solvents, and others. The result is recorded as a pass or fail and logged in the state's seed-to-sale tracking system, Metrc or BioTrack, then filed with the regulator. That filing is the record this project is built from.

Some states publish these files as a matter of routine. Others release them only in response to a public-records (FOIA) request. The route differs by state; the source does not. In every case the underlying data is a government record, not something I generated. Which fields end up in a state's public record varies by state, so what you find on each state page reflects what that state chose to make public — no more, and no less.

Raw seed-to-sale exports do not arrive in a readable shape. A single package can generate dozens of rows — one for each pesticide screened, each heavy metal, each microbial test, plus potency. Three principles govern how those rows become the figures on this site, and they hold in every state.

Operators and labs are shown exactly as each state released them. That falls into three patterns:

The rule across the whole site is the same: I do not de-identify named data, and I do not re-identify coded or numeric data. Where a state published names, you see names. Where a state withheld them, they stay withheld. The difference between a named state and a coded state is a difference in what each state chose to make public — not a gap in the data, and not an editorial choice on my end.

One caveat holds everywhere: some strain or product names in the underlying data contain brand references, and a coded operator or lab may be inferable by someone with industry knowledge who cross-references public licensing records. Coding limits casual identification; it cannot prevent determined cross-referencing — and the underlying records are public to begin with.

The principles above are universal. The details are not. Every state structures its testing program differently — different test categories, different pass/fail definitions, different units, different identity coding, different date ranges, different known quirks in the raw files.

So each state has its own detailed methodology page. That is where you will find the exact data source and how it was obtained, the precise filtering and exclusion rules for that state, how pass/fail is computed there, how potency is handled, the date window covered, and the specific limitations of that state's record. If you want to reproduce a number, the state methodology page is where the recipe lives.

Start from the state directory and open any state to reach its dashboard and its methodology.

The compiled datasets, charts, and analysis on this site are released under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC BY 4.0). You can copy, republish, adapt, and build on the work — commercial or not — as long as you give credit and link back. No permission required, no fee.

The underlying testing records are public-domain government data. Facts and government records are not mine to own, and I make no copyright claim over them. The license covers my contribution: the work of collecting, cleaning, structuring, analyzing, and presenting those records in a form anyone can read.

Full license terms, attribution wording, and the as-is notice are on the Data Use page.

This data is only as accurate as the entries in the state's tracking system. Operator input errors exist. Lab input errors exist. I did not produce, audit, or independently verify the underlying records, and I make no representation as to their accuracy or completeness. Do not rely on this data as the sole basis for any business, financial, legal, regulatory, or purchasing decision. The conclusions you draw are your own.

Cannabis Wise Guys is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any state regulator, and no regulator has reviewed or approved this analysis.