MJBiz - July 2023 - 45

more than 100 milligrams of THC per
package and 10 milligrams of THC per
serving, unless the Maryland Medical
Cannabis Commission staff approves
a licensed processor's GMP certificate,
issued by an FDA-approved third-party
accreditation body.
Even top-selling high-dose edibles
favored by medical patients had
to be taken off the market while
manufacturers pursued GMP
accreditation-a process that takes
anywhere from six months to two years.
Does that level of time and effort
really make sense for cannabis
companies? Maybe not if it comes
down to the availability of a single
product offering.
The real selling point behind a GMPcertified
brand isn't just compliance or
higher-dose formulations, though-it's
quality assurance.
According to the FDA, GMP
regulations " generally address
matters including appropriate
personal hygienic practices, design
and construction of a food plant and
maintenance of plant grounds, plant
equipment, sanitary operations, facility
sanitation, and production and process
controls during the production of
food. " In other words, GMP concerns
everything that happens between
harvest and the stocking of a product
on the shelf.
GMP certification, therefore, speaks
not only to the quality of cannabis
with which a particular product is
infused, but all of the ingredients that
make up a gummy, a beverage or a
tincture.
Indeed, many household-name
retailers such as CVS, Target, Walgreens
and Walmart will stock only GMPcertified
drugs, supplements and
vitamins-in part to limit their
legal exposure and as a response to
consumer demand.
High-THC cannabis products won't
be on the shelves at national retailers
any time soon, of course. But acting as
if they could be is in many cannabis
MariMed creates Betty's Eddies fruit chews in a GMP-certified facility. Courtesy Photo
After decades of
anti-marijuana public
health messaging,
adherence to FDA
standards is a subtle
way for cannabis
brands to repudiate
stigma and ease
consumer
hesitancy.
businesses' present and long-term
interests.
Conveying quality and legitimacy
to an increasingly health-conscious
and marketing-literate consumer base
can win over skeptical shoppers who
scrutinize every label. After decades
of anti-marijuana public health
messaging, adherence to FDA standards
is a subtle way for cannabis brands to
repudiate stigma and ease consumer
hesitancy about the mainstreaming of
accessible, legal products.
The long history of prohibition
and anti-marijuana rhetoric is one
reason that regulatory shifts can feel
persecutory when governmental
changes remove a product from the
market or require significant change.
But what states such as Maryland
have right is giving cannabis brands
a path forward to meet consumer
demand while also demonstrating a
commitment to safety and quality.
That's one reason that early adopters
of GMP certification will be more
competitive in the cannabis space.
Proactively taking on the process
now-rather than in the wake of state
or federal regulatory changes-gives
cannabis businesses the chance to level
up on their own terms and timetable.
GMP certification is one of many
things that cannabis brands can do
to stand behind product-quality
messaging, from cultivation to R&D
to ingredient selection to testing,
packaging and beyond.
The question today isn't whether GMP
certification is worth the effort-it's
which cannabis brands are best
equipped to clear the hurdle.
Tim Shaw is the chief operating officer
of Massachusetts-based cannabis
operator MariMed.
mjbizdaily.com | July 2023 45
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