Cannabis manufacturers and dispensaries in Nevada will have one more regulation to pay attention to in the new year.
On Jan. 1, Nevada’s Marijuana Enforcement Division (MED) enacted a new regulation that requires all single-serving cannabis edibles and infused products be labeled with a THC stamp or mold in an effort to increase public safety.
Wana Brands, a Colorado-based edibles producer that works with licensed partners in Nevada, has ensured that its Nevada operations are producing molds with the specified THC symbol on them—a diamond that encloses the notations “!THC.”
And, overall, it hasn’t been a disruptive change, according to Nancy Whiteman, Wana Brands’ founder and CEO.
“It’s interesting,” she said. “We went through the same thing in Colorado about two years ago, and it was a key change because we had to change the whole way that we were manufacturing our products. However, our advantage in Nevada was that we were launching with [our licensed partner] Even right at the same time this was happening. So, we were able to plan for it right from the start, so there was no change to our manufacturing process due to that.”
For Euphoria Wellness, one of Nevada’s licensed dispensaries, its purchasing department is responsible for ensuring that all incoming products from vendors include the stamp, according to Managing Director Darlene Purdy. The dispensary has time to adjust, however, as most products currently on its shelves were made prior to the Jan. 1 deadline—only stock produced on or after Jan. 1 must have the new stamp.
“Out here, we have edibles inside of opaque bags, so you can’t see the edible when it comes in the door, so it’s caused us to change our processes a little bit to be able to get samples of the edibles ahead of time to make sure that they do have the stamp on them,” Purdy said. “As soon as the manufacturer date changes on the products, where they’ve actually produced the products after 1/1, that’s when we’ll start to see the products coming in the door that have the seals on them.”
Consumers and their purchasing habits should be unaffected by the change, Purdy added, as the stamp simply identifies a gummy or a baked good as a cannabis-infused product, safely separating it from non-cannabis-infused products.
“I think that any time you raise the level of safety, it’s going to help,” Purdy said. “I don’t know that there was a concern before … in the Nevada market, but just raising the level of safety is not going to hurt.”
“I don’t know that we’re fixing something that was actually a problem, to be honest with you, but why not?” Whiteman added. “It just adds one more level of awareness for the public that I don’t see any downside to it."
