Our team at Cannabis Trainers hears almost daily through our various training sessions questions around potency of cannabis and cannabis-infused products. In fact, we have a whole section dedicated to helping our budtenders, dispensary agents, and any other front-facing cannabis industry employees speak to customers about responsible consumption, including potency possibilities. The most common question lately has been “Why is THC potency the primary focus for customers in the marijuana industry?” So, we decided to find out.
An article from MJBiz on the topic explains that the industry has discovered consumers’ perceptions around the quality of their experience centers around THC despite best efforts to continue to educate the population on the other chemical components in the plant (Schaneman 2022), like CBD and terpenes. Granted, THC is considered one of the psychoactive cannabinoids in marijuana so monitoring potency and possible effects are important. However, Leafly shares how cannabis has a known entourage effect, meaning the different compounds of the plant interact with the human body to enhance effects or even create new experiences (Rahn 2020). As so many who come to cannabis consumption for pain management (Nugent, Morasco and O’Neil 2017), more understanding around the other components of the plant is needed to optimize this benefit. THC is actually found to optimize euphoric and relaxation feelings with CBD contributing to the potential reduction of possible adverse effects of THC, such as anxiety or memory loss (Cash, et al. 2020). Further studies may even suggest that low potency THC combined with higher potency CBD may decrease feelings of pain versus high potency THC products (Cash, et al. 2020).
Of course, more scientific study is required to determine the full benefits of the cannabis plant, including all of the cannabinoids and terpenes, not just THC. One possible way to begin to educate the consumers and workers of the industry is to add more chemical component findings to the labels. THC is often listed on the products in the various states that we serve with compliance training. We look forward to test results that include minor cannabinoids and terpenes that are easily viewable for the public to become more educated. Perhaps if the complex nature of cannabis was shared more readily, consumers could truly begin to expand their understanding about the parts of the plant that work best for their own desired wellness experience.
At Cannabis Trainers, we are dedicated to bringing high quality education to all of our clients and students. As mentioned, we have a specific section of our Sell-SMaRT™ Responsible Vendor Training dedicated to educating around components of the plant and ways to speak to consumers about responsible consumption. We have also partnered with Onward Content, who provides general education training on the plant. To learn more about these programs, be sure to visit https://onwardcontent.com/education/. For on demand RVT training and live courses from our professional experts, consider Cannabis Trainers. Our highly engaging, premium quality training programs are not canned representations of need-to-know information. Instead, we update every live class with the very latest laws, compliance, and industry updates from your community. Discover the difference.
References
Cash, M.C., K. Cunnane, C. Fan, and E.A. Romero-Sandoval. “Mapping cannabis potency in medical and recreational programs in the United States.” PLoS One, Mar 2020.
Nugent, S.M., B.J. Morasco, and M.E. O’Neil. “The Effects of Cannabis Among Adults With Chronic Pain and an Overview of General Harms.” Annals of Internal Medicine, 2017.
Rahn, B. The entourage effect: How cannabis compounds may be working together. January 8, 2020. https://www.leafly.com/news/cannabis-101/cannabis-entourage-effect-why-thc-and-cbd-only-medicines-arent-g.
Schaneman, B. How the marijuana industry can shift its focus away from THC potency . August 4, 2022. https://mjbizdaily.com/how-cannabis-industry-can-shift-its-focus-away-from-thc-potency/.