American Herbal Products Association Releases Cannabis Business Guidelines

The regulation surrounding cannabis
continues to create structure and guidelines for development nationwide.

In late July, the American Herbal Products
Association (AHPA) released its list of guidelines for businesses in the
business of manufacturing, packaging, labelling and storage of cannabis
products. The guidelines are closely modelled on recommendations for the food
and dietary supplement industries and are designed to be a guide for those
primarily in the edibles and extracts end of the spectrum

AHPA Guidelines cover everything from
workplace and worker training and safety, to recall procedures. 

This is not the first guide for the
industry that AHPA has produced.  The
organization has previously released publications for the cannabis industry
that include guidance on running dispensaries, labs and cultivation facilities.

The national patients’ rights group,
Americans for Safe Access, has also adopted the groups’ guidelines into its own
Patient Focused Certification program—which is aimed at creating greater
standardization to protect patients within the medical cannabis industry.

The release of the guidelines comes on the
heels of the first forced recall of cannabis infused cookies.  Home Baked, an edibles company based in
Colorado, pulled products in late July over allegations that the company had
manufactured water hash in a controversial manner—by using a washing machine
not tied to food production.

That said, so far such incidents have been
rare. But with a growing industry, medical use advocates are frequently the
first (if not loudest) voice for consumer protection in an industry that is steadily
growing far, far beyond its one principal niche.