“Responsible” cannabis companies realize that “Good Manufacturing Practices” is an essential item/task for being safe in product sales. Many though, have been ignoring this and placing weed on the market without a lab testing exercise and designation. That is because the safety regulations for untoward results with canna sales/use are state regulated and very weak as Kanna Knowledge has discussed before. So, will your liability carriers eventually require this task/logo and not cover claims from a product that has not been tested and awarded the GMP seal of approval? ASK the carriers you are using.

Operating a cannabis laboratory has become a very expensive task and is now largely designed by the demands of its customers. When a lab has created a superior well-founded test with concomitant higher expenses, customer sellers will have to pass those costs on to consumers. With a glut of cannabis in the marketplace, AND PRICE PRESSURES DOWNWARD, as currently reported in the media, what will a lab do after such a major investment? As canna companies refuse to pay for state-of-the-art testing, they will go elsewhere, shopping for a less costly GMP designation. Are your carriers requiring GMP on all the products insured? Please check this out to avoid denial of customer/plaintiff claims.

The current governmental regulators are weak and, in many cases, lax and confused as the cannabis business reaches some form of consumer maturity and safety. Non-science regulators, like state officials who are charged with oversight, are mostly in the dark. They are trying to learn and are now finally engaging the scientific community such as AOAC International. Recently the CANNRA cooperative has been developed which engages more than 30 state regulators. As this activity becomes more centralized and the cooperation with science-based firms grows, the regulatory aura will mature hopefully. That is, unless the Federal government comes calling when cannabis is off the narcotic schedule and promulgates their own blanket standards as reported in Kanna Knowledge.

Other organizations, like ISO/IEC 17025, are a staple for the GMP labs. As a gold standard for GMP practices this designation DOES NOT require specific practices for the laboratories performing cannabis work and this often leads to the testing facilities doing the bare minimum for ensuring compliance. U.S. food GMP has a well-developed set of practices for ensuring consumer safety and cannabis, as it becomes increasingly available will have to do the same. The insurance industry will need to pay closer attention to this issue and make GMP a focal point or even a requirement, when providing coverage to insureds.

One person at Hood College very familiar with these issues is Susan Audino, an analytical chemist and independent consultant who is the science advisor to the AOAC International Cannabis Analytical Science program. She  worked with the NCIA guide for laboratory testing and contributed to “Cannabis Laboratory Fundamentals” published by Springer Nature.

Thus, cannabis brokers: please make certain that you are INSURING product with a sound/solid GMP lab so that when the plaintiff lawyers come calling, AS THEY WILL, you have grounds for a solid defense!!!

See you next time, and have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving …

Michael B