Federal Science Agency Begins Selling ‘Most Carefully Quantified Cannabis Ever Sold’—For $174 A Gram

As part of an ongoing effort to help testing laboratories more reliably determine the potency and purity of marijuana and hemp, a federal science agency has begun selling packages of what it’s calling “some of the most carefully quantified cannabis ever sold.”

Picking up 4.5 grams of the stuff will cost $783, or $174 a gram—far more expensive than the cannabis that’s commercially available in states across the country.

The hemp product, sold by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), isn’t intended for consumption. Rather, it’s a tool to help labs calibrate their analyses of cannabinoids and toxic elements in both hemp and higher-THC marijuana.

“To ensure that their measurement methods are working properly, labs can analyze a bit of this material,” NIST said in a press release about its new offering, known as hemp plant reference material, or RM 8210. “If their numbers match those from NIST to within an accepted margin of error, all is well. If not, they’ll know they need to recalibrate their instruments or otherwise troubleshoot their methods.”

For just under $800, a lab receives three 1.5-gram sample packages of hemp. The samples are carefully measured by NIST for a variety of chemical components, including eight individual cannabinoids such as CBD and delta-9 THC, as well as 13 different toxic elements, like arsenic and heavy metals.

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