People who are purchasing edible marijuana products from cannabis shops can’t trust the labels attached to them due to the fact that they can overstate or understate the amount of delta 9 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in reference from new research involving West Coast products.
Researchers state their result implies that people who buy marijuana edibles potentially could overdosing, risking side effects such as psychosis and intense anxiety, as well as being cheated, by false labels.
“If this study is representative of the medical cannabis market, we may have hundreds of thousands of patients buying cannabis products that are mislabeled,” stated Ryan Vandrey, an associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. He is the head author of the study published this week, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Dr. Patricia Daly, chief medical officer of Vancouver Coastal Health, stated she is in agreement with Vandrey that made labeling more efficient and with more oversight is needed for such products because the caveat emptor principle does not work for sale of medical cannabis.
The research utilized an independent lab to test almost 80 different marijuana edible products baked goods, candy/chocolate representing close to 50 different brands and beverages. The edibles were purchased from medical marijuana shops in 3 different locations, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco.
With only 13 products were labeled correctly. About a quarter had more THC than labels stated as the majority stretched the amount of THC. Vandrey stated in a release that a study that was conducted displayed no hypothesis prior to the study so they were surprised at the point of inaccuracy.
Daly is under the impression that while medicinal cannabis needs enforced regulations. she is in favor of an outright ban on edible marijuana products sine they are packaged as candy treats, lack proper labeling and pose serious threats to children. “These products appeal to children because they look like candy, but there’s growing evidence of the huge increase in hospitalizations. These are all warning signs for our own Poison Control Centre in B.C.”
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