// Definition
The practice of cannabis producers sending samples to multiple testing laboratories and selecting the results most favorable for retail sales, typically choosing labs that report higher THC percentages or pass samples that others fail for contaminants.
// From the Episode
Dr. Mark Scialdone described the 'lab shopping phenomenon' in Massachusetts where some labs fail samples for aspergillus and E. coli while others pass the same samples with high THCA scores. Johnny Casali from Huckleberry Hill Farms confirmed the problem in California, noting that a failed sample can often be retested and pass, making the entire compliance testing framework unreliable. The discussion framed lab shopping as an inevitable consequence of tying commercial value to lab numbers.