Cannabis Professionals Join Together to Set Global Standards

Members of the Global Cannabis Partnership in attendance at the World Cannabis Congress 2019 (CNW Group/Global Cannabis Partnership)

[dropcap class=”kp-dropcap”]A[/dropcap] new group of cannabis professionals have joined together to set the global standards for ethics and environmental protections that are currently lacking. One June 18, the Global Cannabis Partnership (GCP) released a “social responsibility framework,” which suggests new industry guidelines.

According to a press release, the GCP is a group of 45 leaders in the legal cannabis industry. “We’re building an industry for the future,” said the GCP’s Executive Director Kim Wilson. “It’s one thing to have a legal license to operate; earning and keeping a social license is another story. We have a long road ahead of us, but today’s announcement is an important step in the right direction.”

The group is calling this new set of rules the Responsible Cannabis Framework, a structure that will seek to positively influence the industry’s impact on the environment and society. “The RCF was developed through extensive research and consultation with a variety of stakeholders,” said Rick Petersen, one of the world’s experts in corporate responsibility and author of the Framework. “We knew that we could rely on the experience of other industries, while at the same time coming up with the right steps to meet the challenges in our specific sector.”

According to Marijuana Business Daily , the founding members are mostly Canadian-based companies, but it also includes some companies from other countries, including the U.S. Their ultimate goal is to get the industry recognized for its practices in good corporate citizenship. It highlights things the industry should focus on, such as transparency and responsibility, as well as environmental stewardship.

The advent of a global cannabis group is not surprising. California is currently drafting some updated regulations and Ontario is trying to figure out regulations for new cannabis stores. Having global guidelines in place will help the industry thrive.