It took a long time, but cannabis… Marijuana… is on it’s way to legalization in most states. Other nations, such as Canada, are further along in legalizing, or industrializing, cannabis. A simple, but illegal, plant is rapidly becoming a multi-billion mainstream industry. And all of Wall Street wants in on the deal. Cannabis may be a miracle product, but is there a dark side to that miracle?
A recent investigation by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) linked the deaths of five consumers with 450 other cases of hospitalized cannabis users. The cannabis industry is growing up so quickly that regulations and consumer safety testing are falling behind. Today, we will examine how the cannabis industry is protecting consumers.
The quantity and quality of compounds in cannabis, especially THC and CBD vary from plant to plant and season to season. What is stated on the label is often NOT what is in the product.
America’s consumers are in open rebellion against pesticides, chemicals, and all things “unnatural” in commercial farming… but have paid little attention to how cannabis is grown and processed. Yet, cannabis is rapidly adopting commercial farming practices, raising safety concerns. Let’s break down these issues.
In The Beginning: The “beginning” goes back a very long time, about 10,000 years. Europe adopted cannabis just 2,500 years ago. Colonial Americans grew cannabis, and some states required farmers to plant cannabis because it was critical to their survival. Rope, candles & oil wicks, cloth, sacks, and paper were made from cannabis. Building a large ship requires over 100,000 lbs of hemp. And don’t forget medicine.
America immigration rose in the early 1900s. But some Americans wanted to limit immigration… from certain countries. Opium was grown in India and traded through a UK monopoly. So, banning Chinese immigration was the solution for America’s opium problem. Despite America’s long cannabis’ history, Mexican immigration was linked to cannabis use, and both were banned. In 1937 the Marihuana Tax Act was passed, making cannabis illegal. The American Medical Association (AMA) opposed the law. Cannabis was frequently prescribed by doctors, found by the AMA to be effective, not dangerous nor addictive, and without a comparable replacement.
The Middle Years: Between the colonial days and the 1970s, cannabis faded away. Electricity eliminated candles and wicks. Cotton replaced hemp for making thread, cloth, and textiles. Rope became synthetic. Paper was made from wood. Even shoelaces were disappearing.
Still, in hidden farms, small plots of cannabis were still grown. In other nations, traditional medical and industrial uses would survive, but in America, it was largely smoked to get high. The concentration of THC (Tetrahydrocannabinol), its psychoactive ingredient, was still relatively low. Usually around 1-2%. Cannabis imported from tropical areas like Hawaii and Thailand tended to have higher THC levels.
The 1980s: New technology made American agriculture massively more productive. Cannabis growers adopted new technology, moving from soil to hydroponics, using pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, and other chemicals. The journey from “natural” to commercial production increased THC concentration to 20% and beyond.
Back then, consumers didn’t ask many questions about how farm products are grown and processed. However, customers did want a high quality, natural product… and they were willing to pay for it. But as the industry grows, cannabis farmers will be shaped by the same economic forces that drive big farms towards productive but chemically dependent commercial farming.
Cannabinoids: THC is the most abundant active ingredient in cannabis. THC was why cannabis was valuable. Today, the second most abundant cannabinoid, CBD, is getting attention from investors.
THC and CBD are only 2 of 100 cannabinoids. They may all have medical or commercial value. Cannabis went from getting high to getting… healthy. But obtaining the benefits of these new products can involve complex and toxic industrial processes.
Regulation vs. Testing: Cannabis is regulated by states, 22 of which have legalized or decriminalized cannabis. Some provide rules for growing, some have regulations for medical dispensaries, and some provide guidance about CBD oil. It is unclear which state’s rules apply if cannabis is grown in one state, but purchased in another. It is highly unlikely that many Internet merchants meet all regulations for every state!
Consider just CBD oil, “The current legal status of hemp is defined by the 2018 Farm Bill, under which companies can legally grow, manufacture, possess, and sell CBD HEMP products.” But CBD oil can be derived from hemp (low THC plant) or marijuana (high THC plant). Both are in the cannabis family. While hemp CBD is legal, marijuana CBD may or may not be legal in most states. The definition of “hemp” is… ambiguous.
Massachusetts has some of the best testing standards and procedures, but most states have only recently legalized cannabis and issuing few if any guidelines. That’s just regulations, what about testing to see if products are following these regulations? There are no large studies that tell us if many cannabis products meet all standards.
Agricultural Toxins: Cannabis is a valuable crop, and industrial growers are beginning to dominate the market. We can expect to see two phenomena. First, economies of scale will favor larger growers, forcing smaller growers to consolidate. Second, that consolidation will increase price competition, resulting in greater use of technology, chemicals, and automation.
Consider aquaculture, the farming of fish. Mercury in ocean fish led to “farmed” salmon and other fish. But consumers soon learned that industrially farmed salmon results in intensive anti-biotic contamination, toxic PCB’s and diseases. Industrial aquaculture also creates environmental problems, polluting rivers and oceans with chemicals runoff from these farms.
The right crop, in the right place, under the right conditions can be VERY productive. That’s why big farms grow “mono-cultures”, a single version of a crop. The downside is that anything that kills one plant can (quickly) kill the entire farm. Cannabis isn’t (yet) this industrialized, but is headed in that direction. Pesticide, fungicide, and chemical use is on the rise. Indoor growing prevents theft and increases yield, but this unnatural environment can make diseases and pest problems worse. And plants get exposed to plastics and man-made materials.
Extraction Residue: CBD oil must be extracted from cannabis. All extraction leaves a chemical signature. Residue varies by methodology and manufacturer but may involve toxic chemicals, which are not typically used in agricultural (pesticide, fertilizer, etc.) and therefore are not tested for in organic certifications.
Other Ingredients: Vaping devices “vaporize” a liquid containing nicotine, THC, or other ingredients. The user inhales the vapor. Six deaths and 450 hospitalizations were tracked to THC vaping. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) identified the deadly vaping ingredient… vitamin E. Normally vitamin E is safe to eat or put on your skin, but it is not approved to be inhaled. Inhaled vapor turns into oily grease in your lungs. Vape enough and your oil-coated lungs can’t take in oxygen.
Similarly, microwave popcorn uses “food safe” ingredients for a buttery taste and aroma. These ingredients are used to improve the “smoke” and “mouth feel” in vaping. Unfortunately, it damages your lungs and eventually makes breathing difficult. Since not all manufacturers list ingredients, potentially dangerous products are hard to identify.
Contamination: Consumers want a pure CBD oil, without contamination. THC should be less than 0.3%. Higher THC levels may be detected by a drug test. As a natural product, the amount of CBD and THC will vary from batch to batch, making consistency difficult.
Contamination comes from many sources. Plastics and pesticides in the growing phase. Hazardous chemicals (propane, butane, heptane, hexane, etc.) in the extraction phase. And just about any chemical, intentionally or unintentionally, added during final production. Few states test for all contamination.
Supply Chain: Some cannabis merchants just buy products and relabel them. These “White Label” products can be made from a single source or multiple sources. Merchants may work with a supplier for years or choose new suppliers every day. What if a grower or a CBD oil refiner or some other supplier has contamination? Will that white-label merchant even know that a hand full of their products are unsafe? If customers get sick, can they trace back the source of the contamination?
Consider the UK’s 2013 supermarket scandal. Products labeled as “beef”, were made from horses (and pigs, donkeys, etc.). Meat in a frozen lasagna or tube of frozen hamburger is ground up so fine it is unidentifiable. Is it even meat? Because it was not considered “human food”, dangerous bacteria and chemicals specific to horses were not detected. Long supply chains almost always lead to quality problems.
Conclusion: Cannabis consumers face a confusing and fractured landscape. Rules vary by state. Consumers cannot be confident in the quality or safety of cannabis. As the cannabis economy continues to grow, we will see a rising number of stories about safety and quality dangers.
A single national set of standards would help consumer confidence. Some publications and blogs provide reviews of products. Merchants are required to provide test results if you ask for them. And third-party home tests can be used to verify product claims.
But is that enough? Other industries have third-parties that provide consumers with information and tools to help choose products. Good housekeeping is the granddaddy of independent third-party testing and opened their test facilities in 1924. Zagat and the Michelin guide rate restaurants. Ziff Davis tests computers and technology under laboratory conditions and publishes the results. Do we need a similar third-party testing service for cannabis?
What do you think? Should testing firms provide laboratory tests? Would you buy a book with comprehensive cannabis testing? What would you pay for it? Tell us what you think!