Federal Agencies Continue To Work on Cannabis Policy, From Standards to Research

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The National Conference on Weights and Measures (NCWM) voted to pass a new cannabis standard at its 2024 Annual Meeting this week. 

The new standard, which allows for a 3% deviation from stated weight on cannabis flower packaging due to moisture loss, will be added to National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 133 in 2025. 

ATACH President Michael Bronstein, who is on the NCWM Cannabis Task Group, applauded the new standard. 

“These additions will significantly contribute to the industry’s integrity, ensuring that consumers receive accurate information and value for their purchases and standards are harmonized across states in the absence of federal law, but also in preparation for federal legalization,” he said in a statement. 

“This work may come across as esoteric to the casual observer, but it is foundational and historic because it requires the federal government to recognize the determination of cannabis standards and regulation, which will eventually form the background for national legalization and trade.” 

Notably, NIST felt that the standard needed more work before it was passed.

You can see the full item that was voted on here (starting on page 24).

The National Institute on Drug Abuse, within the National Institutes of Health, has given $2.9 million to a team of researchers to study “cannabis warning regulations.” 

The core researchers are from UNC, but the team also includes Gillian Schauer, the executive director of the Cannabis Regulators Association (CANNRA), and Julia Dilley, an epidemiologist with the Oregon Health Authority.

According to UNC’s announcement, the team will “test different warning characteristics on newly developed cannabis warning labels to see which warning characteristics are most effective in communicating the harms of cannabis use.” 

They will also “work with state regulators to ensure the newly developed cannabis warnings address current issues and challenges facing state regulators.”

On Tuesday, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued warning letters to five companies for “illegally selling copycat food products containing delta-8 THC and introducing them into the marketplace in violation” of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act). 

These two entities have sent handfuls of warning letters to companies for these violations, including 6 last year for similar “copycat” issues. “All six of those companies no longer have such products in stock,” the FDA wrote in its announcement on Tuesday. 

The biggest issue is that these “copycat food products containing delta-8 THC” are “extremely easy to purchase and are often available to youth.” Images included “Trips Ahoy” packaging with a picture that looked a lot like Chips Ahoy. A picture of delta-8 THC-infused “Flamin Hot Cheetos” just looked like a regular bag of non-infused Cheetos. 

“Inadequate or confusing labeling can result in children or unsuspecting adults consuming products with strong resemblance to popular snacks and candies that contain delta-8 THC without realizing it,” FDA Principal Deputy Commissioner Namandjé Bumpus said in a statement.

“As accidental ingestion and/or overconsumption of delta-8 THC containing products could pose considerable health risks, the companies who sell these illegal products are demonstrating complete neglect for consumer safety.”

The joint letters went to: 

• Hippy Mood

• Earthly Hemps

• Shamrockshrooms.com

• Mary Janes Bakery Co. LLC

• Life Leaf Medical CBD Center 

The FDA also sent GrowGod LLC a warning letter “independently” for the same FD&C Act “violations.”