Medical Cannabis May be Stronger or Weaker Than Expected: Marijuana Edibles Unregulated

There may be some issues when it comes to medical marijuana. Researchers have found that the vast majority of edible cannabis products sold in medical marijuana dispensaries carried labels that either overstated or understated the amount of THC in the products.

"If this study is representative of the medical cannabis market, we may have hundreds of thousands of patients buying cannabis products that are mislabeled," said Ryan Vandrey, one of the researchers, in a news release.

In this latest study, the researchers collected 75 different edible cannabis products, including baked goods, beverages and candy/chocolates, representing 47 different brands. These products were purchased legally from a sample of three medical dispensaries in each of three cities: Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles.

The researchers compared the THC content listed on product labels with the laboratory measurements that were taken. In the end, the scientists found only 13 products, which was 17 percent, that were accurately labeled. About 17 products (23 percent) had more THC than advertised and about 45 products (60 percent) were overlabeled and had less THC content than advertised.

The researchers also tested for CBD, which is another of the active ingredients in cannabis believed to have medical benefit. A total of 59 percent of the products had detectible traces of CBD, but the average ratio of THC to CBD was 36 to 1. In fact, only one product had a 1 to 1 ratio, which some research suggests is associated with fewer side effects and improved clinical benefit compared with higher ratios of THC to CBD.

"A lot of dispensary owners and medical cannabis proponents make a big case about how therapeutically beneficial CBD is, but our testing indicates that a lot of what's available in the edible cannabis market may have very little CBD," said Vandrey.

The findings reveal that regulations should be enforced for edibles. Yet in the absence of federal regulation, the states that have medical marijuana laws need to account for the quality and testing of medical marijuana products sold to their residents.

The findings are published in the journal JAMA.

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