Cannabis is one of the North America’s newest and most promising industries. It is now medically legal in 29 states and recreationally legal in 8 states, with even more allowing CBD for certain medical conditions. A recent poll also shows that close to 60% of American support legalized cannabis and Canada is taking cannabis even further, introducing legislation to federally legalize the plant in 2018. All of this indicates a trend away from prohibition toward a regulated market. And yet, some are still wary of cannabis.
There are the obvious concerns around legalized adult-use like access for children and the potential for drugged drivers who could put the public at risk. But there are also still some concerns around the medicinal use of the plant. One of those arguments is that cannabis cannot be standardized like pharmaceuticals are, creating an issue for doctors who want to recommend it as a treatment. This argument states that if we cannot guarantee a product will have stated levels of THC and CBD, it is unsafe to recommend a dosage to sick patients because it is impossible to know the exact effect and interaction with other medications. This an argument that should not be ignored by advocates. Medical cannabis must become more standardized if it hopes to truly compete with traditional pharmaceuticals.
Fortunately, as advocated often point out, a regulated market is just the remedy for this issue. Legalization and regulation of cannabis means that, for the first time, standardized, consistent product can be created. By taking the industry out of the basement and into the mainstream, companies can now operate at a level of sophistication needed to consistently meet standards set by regulation agencies. In fact, Canada’s task force that researched the market and made recommendations for legislation suggested a strict standardization process that would ensure product meets consistent quality standards that patients can depend on.
Standardization is not only a concern of growers to ensure medical patients know their dosage; it is also critical for cultivators who want to forecast production. As anyone who has started their own cultivation facility knows, setting up a commercial facility is an expensive undertaking which normally requires outside private investment. But before any cultivator or facility owner can get that investment, they must demonstrate their projected earnings from the project. Further, cultivators and facility owners must then meet those projections. Quality standardization and control is key to properly forecasting business success, making investors happy and allowing businesses to run smoothly.
Unfortunately, ensuring consistent, standardized quality is not always easy when it comes to cultivating a plant. Plants are living things and can vary in yield depending on a number of conditions from genetics to lighting to environment. Any change in light, temperature or humidity levels can cause plants to be unable to express their full genetic potential, leading to variances in THC and CBD levels and yield. The only way to truly ensure a consistent quality plant is to control the growing environment completely, with no interruptions or unplanned temperature and humidity swings. Therefore, setting up the exact same growing conditions for each crop is critical.
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