Chapter 31: Product Safety and Quality Control
Authors: MacCallum CA, Lo LA, Betts F & Koehn M
Abstract:
It is imperative both healthcare providers and patients are educated on all aspects of cannabis treatment, including product safety and quality control. There are a number of quality control variables to consider when choosing medical cannabis products including contaminants, microorganisms, and pesticides. Quality control standards reduce or eliminate exposure to harmful chemicals and contaminants such as pesticides, extraction solvents, microorganisms, diluents, and fillers. These may be in a wide range of potential products which patients are considering or already using, including dried flower, oils, and concentrated products such as vapes. These are important considerations when selecting cannabis products and should not be overlooked by healthcare providers, patients, and cannabis consumers in general. Healthcare providers should be aware of which products patients are using and carefully inspect labelling. Quality control is most stringent for products that are obtained from a legal, licensed, and regulated source.
