November/December 2025

A lack of standards for cannabis vape devices puts consumers at risk, but several organizations are committed to the research, collaboration, and solutions needed to promote safety and quality in the industry.

Cannabis genetics fundamentally dictate the plant's potential for chemical signatures, including cannabinoid and terpene profiles, and physical traits, such as yield. Cultivators use selective techniques, such as "stacking," to enhance specific compounds. Ultimately, successful cultivation involves balancing superior genetics with environmental "levers" to optimize gene expression and create targeted strains.

For cannabis flower, cannabinoids occur at concentrations far too high for traditional spike recovery experiments to meaningfully assess extraction efficiency. Even large spike additions contribute only a small fraction of the total analyte mass, making recovery results insensitive to extraction performance. This article explains why extraction efficiency for cannabinoid methods must instead be established through matrix-exhaustive, sequential extraction studies.

Here, we review the major developments of 2025 impacting the legal cannabis and hemp industries, including state-specific hemp policies, the long-awaited 2024 Farm Bill, and the continuing federal process around cannabis rescheduling. It concludes with what stakeholders should expect as the stage is set for consequential policy activity in 2026.

This article delves into how analytical chemists should approach their work, taking into consideration the context of the analysis and multiple parameters based on the Golden Rectangle of Chemical Analysis to develop and use the appropriate analytical methods.