In last month’s webinar episode of “When Things Go Wrong,” moderator Bethany Moore and David Vaillencourt, CEO of The GMP Collective, were joined by leadership from three organizations that advocate for cannabinoid patients and consumers – Sasha Kalcheff-Korn of Realm of Caring Foundation, Steph Sherer of Americans for Safe Access (ASA), and Morgan Fox of NORML.
In this episode, we discussed best practices for protecting patients and consumers, as well as common health and safety risks that cannabis and hemp consumers face and how these risks can be mitigated through proper production and handling practices.
You can watch the full webinar recording here on our YouTube channel.
We received a few audience questions during the webinar and have compiled answers below.
Disclaimer: The answers provided reflect the perspectives of the panelists or their organization, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The GMP Collective.
What steps should be taken to prevent and/or diminish the prevalent practice of lab shopping?
The GMP Collective’s webinar in May 2024 explored this topic in depth. In this blog, we responded to audience questions: https://gmpcollective.com/audience-questions-when-things-go-wrong-episode-21-ensuring-integrity-lab-shopping-practices-in-the-cannabis-industry/
Additionally, here is the link to the full webinar recording on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dV82dj_MBg&t=2171s
Do you think there is enough consumer protection regulation coming from the Governor’s office in Colorado?
REALM OF CARING: I will say that consumer protection is bigger than what is decided upon at the Governor’s office. Advocacy must be directed at all leaders in the states – every representative and senate member. I will be blunt to say that in my 5 years here I have yet to see a bill that caters to the consumer, in fact, the only bills that have come across Polis’ desk in recent years have been taking away from the consumer by decreasing equitable access – and these are bills advocated for by some cannabis companies in the state. More conversations need to be happening in these groups – not behind closed doors at the Capitol. The most important voice at the table in this matter is the consumer – bring your Colorado customer base to that table. Encourage their involvement and share their stories. Realm of Caring is headquartered in Colorado so also reach out to us and let’s work on something!
I am a longtime founder, advocate/grower, and commercial land developer in CO, my sweet mom has MS, an incurable autoimmune disorder. Are any of these organizations supporting or funding research regarding the effects of remediation on finished flower? We need full disclosure of all ingredients and applied remediations with COAs we can trust. We do not want mold and fungi that could harm, but we also do not support products undergoing heavy remediations like radiation to be used on our whole plant; we need to fund research to further define ‘FULL SPECTRUM’ ‘ORGANIC GROWN’ cannabis from the conventional grown, remediated bulk products.
REALM OF CARING: We couldn’t agree more and intimately understand your mom’s needs for safety. We applaud your efforts in being part of a solution to a big problem – thank you for what you do! A big part of what we do at Realm of Caring is observational research. We have an opportunity to work with Johns Hopkins on the Cannabis Health and Research Initiative, which will survey cannabis use for 10,000 individuals over the next 5 years through the National Cannabis Study. A portion of this study will be follow up testing on products (both cannabis and hemp) that have resulted in adverse effects by the consumer. Realm of Caring and the Johns Hopkins team care deeply about ensuring that there are safe products on the market and those that aren’t safe are held accountable.
The GMP Collective: The S3 Collective has recognized this gap and is working with research universities and government agencies to identify funding sources to address the known gaps in research around product safety. This foundational work will help the development of standards that can be used in future regulatory frameworks to ensure consumer safety and transparency.
Thanks again to everyone who tuned in. Catch up on all of our past webinar episodes on our YouTube channel, and be sure to register for our next webinar in November.
