Member Spotlight: LK Pure Labs
About LK Pure Labs
Stephen Keith
LK Pure Labs.: LKPureLabs.com
Stephen Keith is the founder and CEO of LK Pure Labs, the first testing laboratory to be licensed in the state of Illinois. Steven’s background is in biological research, with a particular emphasis on plant life.
Tell us about your company?
We started LK Pure Labs in 2013 and were the first lab in the state of Illinois that was licensed to test cannabis. The focus of our 20-member team is on providing accurate, timely results, without sacrificing our stringent standards and testing policies. We believe our methods and practices make us the most accurate lab operating in the state of Illinois.
What role does your company play in serving the cannabis industry?
We work with growers to test their cannabis to ensure it meets state standards for commercial consumption. LK Pure Labs is ISO accredited and state-certified to provide all testing requirements for cannabis-related consumer products produced in the state. So we evaluate things like how potent the cannabis is and evaluate things like pesticides and microbials, all before it can be sold at the store.
Stephen Keith, Founder and CEO of LK Pure Labs
Stephen Keith is the founder and CEO of LK Pure Labs, the first testing laboratory to be licensed in the state of Illinois. Steven’s background is in biological research, with a particular emphasis on plant life.
What drew you into the cannabis industry?
From my background as a research biologist, I see cannabis first and foremost as a plant and I’ve worked with plants my whole life. And as far as a plant goes, it’s gotten a pretty bad rap over the years. But I’ve seen the benefits that cannabis has had on people’s lives, particularly those suffering from PTSD and people struggling with things like seizures.
So, when I saw an opportunity to bring the same stringent practices from my biological research business into the cannabis testing business, I jumped at it.
What excites you about the cannabis industry?
The industry is going so quickly: it feels like it’s gone from 0 to 100 in about two seconds. That makes for a really exciting environment and a lot of opportunities to shape what testing will – and should – look like. And there’s no doubt in my mind that we’re just at the tip of the iceberg in determining how useful cannabis can be.
What are the biggest challenges you face?
From a business standpoint, we of course find ourselves competing with other laboratories, some of which don’t have the same practices and methodologies that we employ. In many ways, the standard operating procedures are still being developed. Illinois has implemented the strongest and safest product standards in the country. These “gold” standards are in place every step of the way when cultivating a product that can be sold, including batch size, equipment purchasing, timing, processing, etc. Other states are more lenient. Through CBAI, we are working directly with the current cannabis operators and relevant stakeholders to create best practices for the industry and our consumers, because while the standards are high, there are no set “rules” for the steps you take to meet them.
As for LK Pure Labs, we are never going to sacrifice our standards. Meeting the gold standard isn’t necessarily easy, but I’ve always told my team we’re going to keep our head down, stick with our practices and focus on our goal of getting the most accurate results.
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