A new organization that hopes to help establish standards-based information about cannabis products and companies in Canada is hosting its first workshop in Ottawa in September.
The Cannabis Standards Alliance of Canada (CSAC) is a newly launched not-for-profit organization seeking to establish enforceable industry standards and provide consumers and industry with evidence-based information about cannabis products.
In their first workshop on September 20, the new association will focus on the accuracy of THC values on dried cannabis flower products. The goal of the workshop will be to create standards for sampling practices by producers and analytical labs for testing purposes such as sample selection and preparation.
“CSAC provides the cannabis sector with an alternative to lab shopping/THC inflation, creating a level playing field for producers, labs and dispensaries of all sizes,” said Pierre Killeen, the organization’s Executive Director, in a press release. “Going forward, the Cannabis Standards Alliance of Canada will develop additional enforceable standards helping the sector capitalize on the many opportunities of legal cannabis, both here in Canada and internationally.”
Killian has an extensive history in policy and public affairs and was most recently the executive director of the Institute on Cannabis and the VP of legislative and regulatory affairs at the Cannabis Council of Canada. Before that, he was VP of corporate communications and government relations at Hexo, a Quebec-based cannabis producer.
Issues with the accuracy of THC testing have been a hot topic in the cannabis industry in Canada and beyond. The Ontario Cannabis Store even began conducting internal testing on products it carries to ensure THC levels are accurate.
In 2023, Health Canada also announced it was launching a data-gathering program on cannabis markets in Canada that will include sampling and testing of both legal and illegal products currently in the market.
More information about CSAC can be found on their website at https://cannsac.org/
