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Although she resisted at first, after hundreds of calls she saw this could be a valuable area that would also ensure patients consume safe products.

By the end of the year, about half of Keystone’s work is expected to involve cannabis.

“I was really worried about telling my parents I had applied for a dealer’s licence, but they have been really great,” McDonald said.

“I grew up in a very conservative household. Prohibition was big. We talked a lot about how bad drugs were.”

The company handles about 2,500 samples annually from 300 to 400 personal growers and a handful of commercial licensed producers.

Technologists grind up small pieces of flower, mix them with solvent and study the amount of psychoactive THC and other cannabinoids they contain with a high-pressure liquid chromatography machine.

A small number of clients also want a check for contamination from such dangerous microbes as salmonella and E. coli.

Any leftover dope is ground up, mixed with kitty litter and water and disposed of.

Business is booming. Revenues have doubled in each of the last two years and now approach $1 million, and Keystone is taking over the space beside its location near Roper Road and 75 Street.

It expects to double its staff to about 15 people by the end of 2018, McDonald said.

American testing company Evio Inc. bought half of Keystone for $2.5 million in May, a move McDonald said gives her more access to expertise and other benefits.

While she enjoys being part of such a dynamic industry, she also finds the experiences of medical users heartening.