New suspicious hash product - Piatella

Before reading this article, I would like to tell you a bit about myself (the author of this article) to give you an understanding of my perspective.

Remember that this article is 100% based on my point of view and opinions.

I have cannabis experience that spans from 2015/16. I started exploring the cannabis subject with high interest and focus. This had led me to experience the scene of cannabis briefly in many different countries; Australia, USA, China, Thailand, EU, by visiting cannabis shops/farms/consumers and in general absorbing knowledge out of interest.

It saddens me deeply, seeing how such an amazing plant is becoming more and more tainted, enabling government to stigmatize cannabis users all around the world.

I wanted to work within the cannabis industry, as I believed it would be legalized soon (back in 2016) because it is the only logical choice; legalize.

It was of course not legalized. The governments are still crashing down on cannabis due to reasons I can not understand.

With almost 10 years of pharmaceutical experience, from various drug productions and projects in the industry, I feel confident enough to give my personal assessment and point of view on the cannabis industry.

I may make mistakes, but I promise to have full transparency as this is just a hobby and interest for me. I do not have any stake/money or personal gain in the cannabis industry. As a medicinal user, I just want to consume proper cannabis products, and I want to ensure other users are staying safe and healthy - so that they can consume cannabis for as many years as they'd like!

Please, go through the various blog posts and articles on this website, where I explore methods to validate products through conversion calculations, official statements from government bodies, microscopic examinations of import products, and so forth. And please, add your own theory/controversy/purchase/produce to whatever group you'd like!

Now that you know my point of view and past, let's get into the article.

First of all, let's start by going through each of the bars and why I personally deem them as suspicious.

Let's start with the classic "Piatella" bars that are widely circulated. They are in Brazil, Portugal, Germany, etc. There are supposedly many, many kilos of this product.

What made me curious about this product is of course the weird color, texture and cheap price.

If this indeed was a legitimate Piatella product, the color and texture would be different - and the price too. The bars are looking very light in color which would remind me of CRC produce or a very high quality product such as Pioca Rosin.

But if we were to assess this as being a high-grade product, the price does not match the production cost.

These products are sold by third party dealers for 6€/g and below!

These product prices are akin to what we are seeing when a crop has failed; the product is severely damaged due to pests/mold or other factors, rendering it unable to enter the legal/black market due to visible contamination. It is not uncommon for these products to be processed and refined, removing the visible contamination - but they do not remove all of the contamination with certainty. Especially fungi/bacterial and very small particles.

This brings me onto the next step for this Piatella hash. A user has contacted me and sent me a PDF which is supposedly a COA for this specific bar of hash.

I honestly believe it is not true, as you can also see in the report, that it has a picture of crystals. You could argue it may be those crystals prior to being pressed. Anyways, let's pretend it's valid. Let's briefly break down the report:

-This is 100% theoretical, basing the report off as if it's for this specific hash product.

We can start with the basics; no business name, license number, business name, etc. We are severely lacking traceability. Let's pretend this is fine as it is a black/gray market product, so let's move on to the analysis itself.

As can be seen, they are testing for cannabinoids which tests higher than 99% THCA, leaving the THC as trace amounts. This means that the product is now in a gray-area and is able to fly under the radar for many countries as THCA is not governed in many countries.

So what does this mean in short? It means that the reason those vendors always test for cannabinoids is in order to be in compliance - they want to wash their hands clean so they can taint our health without risking any legal consequences themselves.

Onto the next step, we can see that they are testing for pesticides - which is great! Since they are testing for pesticides, I would imagine that this is indeed a natural product they've extracted from. Since they're performing an extraction, they would also have to test for residue, as they're using solvents (information: cheaper production method).

They are passing both tests which is great! But, we are still missing some of the extremely vital tests, such as a toxicology report for microbial contamination as well as fungi and heavy metals! These factors are EXTREMELY important to include, especially when performing extractions on natural products with solvents and machinery.

I looked into the process for this claimed product, and it is supposedly a hydrocarbon solvent extraction.

I do not have proof whether this product is indeed the one that is tested in the report, or if the user tried to deter my focus away from those fake Piatella bars. I will therefore not continue with outing the production method for this - as we simply do not know.

When someone tries to tell you their product is clean by sending you a report, you have to ensure that at least these subjects are tested:

-For the COA, you can also request a PDF file with protection to verify the PDF isn't altered.

So a final personal conclusion on what I believe the first Piatella bar could be;

-CRC/THCA produce due to color. -CRC/synthetic produce due to the extremely low price.

-THCA/synthetic due to ease of distribution.

-Terpenes/terpenoids added in to add more to the authenticity

-Potentially synthetic due to the texture, color, and that it is able to pass border controls easily (apparently).

-Rumor: Guardia Civil has made a bust for these/similar bars, which were tested as being synthetic (I have not been able to find an article regarding this or have it verified. It is included in case someone has information regarding this rumor. I will update accordingly).

=I do NOT believe that this is indeed legitimate Piatella hash. Piatella doesn't have that consistency and color - for the offered price.

Here are some pictures of genuine Piatella:

And here are some pictures of the fraudulent Piattella product:

As you can see, the fraudulent Piattella hash is extremely homogenous in consistency all around. This argues whether the product even has the chemical properties that Piatella hash; terpenoids, flavonoids, ethyls, variety of cannabinoids, and so forth.

When a product looks like this - and is barely sticky, it indicates the product has a high concentration of a chemical that is not sticky; which points at cannabinoids or synthetics in this specific case. Not a large mix of cannabis' chemical properties that a genuine Piatella product will contain.

This brings us onto the next topic that is relevant to these bars; synthetics.

So why even bring synthetics subject up in this article, when synthetic hash is indeed quite rare (but definitely not impossible) you may ask.

The reason as to why a synthetic talking point is valid for these fraudulent products that are being sold as Live Rosin/Piatella/Static hash and whatever the local plug makes up, is due to their price points are the same prices as the synthetic products that has recently entered the market.

Let's start by having a look at these synthetic products:

These products are sold by third party dealers for 7€/g and below! Some as low as 3,89€/g (when buying just 100g - imagine the kilo discount).

Since we know what the dealers pay for these products, let's look into what the vendors theoretically are paying for 100g as well as production & distributor cost:

I would like to note that I have extracted this data from a officially registered company with public data. I will not refer to any companies/dealers and neither will I post full SOPs for fraudulent production methods.

So now that we have established that these fake Piatella products does indeed exist in close alignment to synthetic products, I would argue that these fake Piattella products are in a high risk for being a dangerous product, whether it being tainted THCA/CRC/BHO or a entirely synthetic composition. So for now, do not consume as this product needs some clarification.

For the next point, I would like to briefly take on the THCA market and their potential dangers - as these products seems to also be entering the black/gray market lately.

First of all, I would like to point out that I have been having my eyes peeled on the legal THCA market as it is booming in EU lately. I have contacted a few vendors and I have investigated almost all of the COA (Certificate of Analysis) in Denmark and I am yet to find a product that actually passes all the criteria for a clean product. Matter of fact, the vendors do not even test for the full spectrum of possible contaminants.

For example, there are standards for cannabis consumption on a legal scale for residual solvents concentration limit.

Example for USP standards: Class 1: benzene ≤2 ppm

Class 2: toluene ≤890 ppm, hexane ≤290 ppm, methanol ≤3000 ppm

Class 3: heptane/pentane typically ≤5000 ppm (50 mg/day option)

EU residual-solvent limits: Class 1: benzene ≤2 ppm (also: carbon tetrachloride 4 ppm, 1,2-dichloroethane 5 ppm, 1,1-dichloroethylene 8 ppm, 1,1,1-trichloroethane 1500 ppm)

Class 2: Class 2 (limit): toluene ≤890 ppm, hexane ≤290 ppm, methanol ≤3000 ppm

Class 3: Class 3 (low toxic potential): 50 mg/day PDE (≈ 5000 ppm assuming a 10 g/day maximum daily intake; scales with dose).

And then there are the other factors that I mentioned above, such as microbial/fungi contamination.

As you already know, THCA is rampant due to it being able to fly under the radar of legality; THC is illegal in most countries, but THCA has not been classified as of writing this post.

This means that they are required to keep the THC% low and the THCA% high to stay in compliance and deliver a product that has potency. For the vendors to be in compliance, they will be using different methods to produce these products such as CRC/acid clays (color remediation and acid-activated clays/silicas). These methods may isomerize cannabinoids and leave other byproducts. They may also shed fine particles if not filtered or validated correctly.

=In normal English, they are producing unknown "versions" of cannabinoids and may be introducing unknown chemicals/particles into the product, or they are trying to filter a poor product that is not guaranteed to be refined successfully, leaving the consumers with a unsafe product.

For their equipment, they may be re-using their extractors/crystallizers without validated cleaning procedures which may carryover solvents, acids, media or unfiltered batches. Gray-market facilities typically lack documented limits and verifications as they are selling these products as "not-for-consumption", leaving them entirely out of the compliance of food and drug safety requirements. They may produce these products with as many adulterants/contaminants as they please - because they are not required to test for these factors!

A quick run-down of dangers of the gray-area THCA:

1. Process & residual-chemical risks.

2. Adulteration.

3. Biological/toxin risks such as mycotoxins.

4. Pesticides & environmental contaminants.

5. No traceability to batch releases and COAs.

6. No guarantee you are getting the labeled cannabinoid.

These kinds of contamination doesn't need to be present in a high concentration at all before being unhealthy/dangerous for consumption.

Now that we have established some theories and factors regarding both THCA and also synthetic cannabis, I would like to move on to the Piatella x Runtz bars that I have also outed as being suspicious.

We can start by stating the obvious: there is no such thing called "Piatella x Runtz". Let me be so blatant and call the producer of this bar not knowledable. This producer knows that "Piatella" is currently a hype/trend and he takes the Piatella name to claim authenticity. It seems as if he believes that Piatella is a strain.

So why is this suspicious? A product for 7€/g does not sound legitimate after taking the previous factors into account. Quite interesting how all of these products seem to hit around the same price point.

Distillate is also a very potent cannabis product, often being 92%+ THC content, it is still not regarded as a high-quality product; rather the opposite. Distillate has garnered the name of "hotdog water". Just because these "Piatella" products are a stable consistency, and more akin to resin than the Piatella bars, it does not mean they are any better than distillate - for example. Or the Piatella bars.

A high potency product is far from being a proper and safe product.

I believe this product is either BHO or another solvent extraction on a poor product that has failed to enter the market, thus having no other option than being refined. It could also be a "Piatella" product that has been altered better, perhaps with some added terpenes to disguise it for the consumer. It could also be a semi-synthetic produce.

I can not establish a conclusion for this product, especially given there is limited information for this specific bar.

An exploration of production methods for this kind of products include, but are not limited to:

Synthezisation from terpene --> CBD --> D8THC --> D9THC.

Hydrocarbon solvent extraction - a method which I have not been able to find much information about. But this is one of the drivers for the gray-market THCA.

Butane hash oil extraction (with CRC) - leaving a high risk of impurities for black market products.

If the producer chooses to synthesize from CBD or a terpene, they may be creating various unknown isomers during this process. A great article for this is written by ProVerde Laboratories. Quote:

Meaning, if the products produced are being made artificially, we are required to be testing not only their contamination factors, but also their isomer and chemical composition. To do this, you do not simply perform a "normal" analysis, but you are required to use very sophisticated equipment such as isotope-ratio MS (IRMS) paired with chiral HPLC/GC-MS to check enantiomeric purity.

Since the producers carries the burden of proof, they should be able to provide this information. It is simply not up to the users to verify their products, spending hundreds or thousands of dollars/euros just to consume a product which they may end up discarding entirely.

When someone asks you to provide evidence that the product is clean, I would personally go through the more "easy" toxicology tests which many laboratories are able to perform (HPLC), but if you are to verify natural/synthetic origin, you are looking at a larger project which shouldn't be on the users.

Instead, the most viable and important "tool" to use for new products is by challenging the products with logic and facts at hand.

Let's wrap it up at the end:

The hash bars reviewed in this article does not align with the expected appearance, provenance or economics of craft Piatella. Their uniform texture, mass availablity at extremely low prices are more consistent with CRC-processed THCA isolate (with or without added terpenes) or other reprocessed material - potentially including synthetic compositions.

If origin (natural vs synthetic) is in question, routine COAs are insufficient. Producers making such claims should apply radiocarbon AMS/IRMS evidence and chiral HPLC/GC-MS impurity profiles. Absent that, treat "99% THCA" hash with atypical morphology and bargain pricing as high-risk until verified.

Pricing for these tests per sample are 350€ - 2000€, depending on laboratory, testing method and process.

Without full, verifiable safety data and credible provenance, these "Piatella" bars should not be assumed safe or authentic.

This subject is almost infinitely deep and there are factors which I have chosen not to delve into, as I would like to keep the article short and precise to make it easier to read.

I welcome all kind of products - but I believe that nothing beats consumer safety. Most people are using cannabis for a reason; some may have a poor immune system. These products may have serious consequences for users.

Please do reach out if I have forgotten to include something in this article, or if I have written something which is wrong. I will have forgotten to include some factors and details in this article. As said before, it is a subject with almost infinite details and in-depth explanations of processes - it can be difficult to introduce all of them in just one article.

I highly recommend you to search around for posts and articles on this website for a deeper insight.

I take all messages very serious, and I aim to update this article if something should change.

Thank you for taking your time to join me in my adventure of these new products that has hit the market (at least in EU). And thank you to those who would never taint their products on purpose! Do remember to check in with COAs if you are running a cannabis business! I believe this will only drive more consumers your way, and I advocate for all cannabis companies that are taking the health of cannabis consumers as a first-priority.