Cannabis Packaging

 

'For a long period of time there was much speculation and controversy about where the so-called 'missing matter' of the Universe had got to. All over the Galaxy the science departments of all the major universities were acquiring more and more elaborate equipment to probe and search the hearts of distant galaxies, and then the very centre and the very edges of the whole Universe, but when eventually it was tracked down it turned out in fact to be all the stuff which the equipment had been packed in.'

- The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Complete Trilogy of Five, Douglas Adams

 

 

Cannabis, to most users world wide, comes packed in nondescript brown bags, or wrapped in newspapers or small plastic pouches. This they purchase from the black market or directly from the farmer, if lucky. Larger quantities are packed in bales and wrapped in suitable material, mainly for distribution from the farmer to wholesalers or retailers. Often, to avoid detection, since cannabis is still illegal worldwide, innovative methods are used to package it. The plant, being bulky and easy to detect, is not exactly a drug dealer's perfect drug, one of the reasons why it is the most seized by law and drug enforcement authorities world wide, thus boosting their performance numbers as the perfect low hanging fruit. Cannabis is in fact a crop, or a commodity like tea or coffee, wrongly given the label 'drug'. The real dangerous drugs - heroin, fentanyl, cocaine,  methamphetamine, synthetic cannabinoids and novel psychotropic substances - are easy to package, conceal and avoid detection, hence the raging global drug problem while the authorities target the harmless cannabis. Movies, especially in India, depict a typical drug dealer as a person carrying a suitcase full of ganja, supposedly weighing 10 kilos or some such astronomical weight. In reality, it is near impossible to carry 10 kilos of cannabis in a decent sized suitcase. As William S Burroughs writes, "In practice, pushing weed is a headache. To begin with, weed is bulky. You need a full suitcase to realize any money. If the cops start kicking your door in, then you are like with a bale of alfalfa.". The synthetic drugs on the other hand can be very conveniently packaged in small containers, or mixed with various solvents, that still realize the dealer a good amount of money for the effort.

 

In the past, before cannabis was prohibited in India by the British colonialists in the 19th century, it was widely cultivated in many parts of the country. Once the crop was harvested, it was processed to make packaging and transport easier, resulted in packaging that was confused as varieties of cannabis by those unfamiliar with the plant. The types of packaging were flat, rolled or chur. Flat cannabis was cannabis that had been tread on to flatten the flowering tops out after they had been dried. Similarly, rolled cannabis was dried cannabis flowers rolled into cylindrical columns. Both these processes enabled the farmer and trader to stack up and package the cannabis for transport and to reduce its bulk. Chur was the fine residues left over from the rolling or flattening process and was in high demand and priced higher than the flat or rolled cannabis. The retail outlet was a simple shop similar to a grocers, and sometimes the grocers shop itself, where piles of different varieties were place in the open or in jars or in the form of sweetmeats. People selected the cannabis that they preferred, and the seller weighed the required amount and wrapped it up in a suitable wrapper and handed it over to the buyer just like any other commodity. For storage purposes containers of clay, glass or ceramic were used. Larger quantities were stored in gunny sacks or packed with hay. The main objective was to keep the produce dry, as humidity was the biggest enemy of storage. Since cannabis was grown in sustainable ways, without the use of chemical fertilizers or pesticides, the risk of contamination with inorganic compounds was negligible. Charas or hashish was sometimes packed in leather to keep it fresh. The typical shelf life of ganja was around two years while charas was known to stay relatively fresh for upto five years.

 

In an increasing number of places, mostly places with some form of legalization of cannabis in the last few years, we are witnessing a radical change to the concept of cannabis packaging. A user walks into a retail store and is confronted with a bewildering array of cannabis varieties, each stored in snazzy, tasteful and colorful packages. The packages vary from pouches of fixed quantities, that can be hung up on display, to jars, boxes and other types of packaging, some of which can put expensive jewelry and high end accessories to shame. It is not only cannabis flower, concentrates and edibles that are packaged but also cannabis based beverages, food, accessories, wellness products, etc. The cannabis packaging industry has taken off as an ancillary to the cannabis industry itself  in places where the plant has been legalized for recreational and/or medical use. The concept of branding has become a very key part of cannabis businesses in legal places today.

Regulatory requirements in places with cannabis legalized for recreational or medical use mean that the cannabis packaging has to be child, pet and tamper proof. It has to contain information on the quantity of delta9-tetrahydrocannabinol(THC) and cannabidiol (CBD), and increasingly, terpenes and flavinoids, besides other information such as date of packaging, lot number, tracking information, etc. Edibles are required to contain nutritional content, serving quantities, etc. Strict compliance is required to prevent regulatory authorities from seizing the product. Packaging is essential for storage, transport and display and many companies are going the extra mile to ensure that their product has the necessary branding to stand out and capture a discerning consumer market. Companies are willing to spend that extra buck to ensure that their product packaging is among the best. With the evolution of cannabis packaging has also come the question of whether the packaging is environment friendly, and if package disposal and recycling is creating new problems to an industry that has essentially been one of the greenest.

The pharmaceutical industry has decided to add its own spin to cannabis packaging. They have managed to package the natural herb in such a way that it resembles the synthetic pharma medicines that most of those loyal to the pharma industry love. Pharma industries advertise cannabis as a pill or injection, physicians prescribe it and the patient takes it, happy in the comfort that the cannabis looks like how a medicine is supposed to look, according to them.

In one way, the fancy cannabis packaging and branding aims to address the affluent sections of society. In the end, even if there are consumers willing to pay that extra dollar for a finely packaged product with all the information on it, the vast majority of the world's cannabis consumers - the world's poor and downtrodden - don't mind getting their product in a brown paper bag, , preferably made out of hemp paper, or taken out of a gunny sack or glass jar. 

Related articles

The following set of articles related to the subject are taken from various media. Words in italics are the thoughts of yours truly at the time of reading the article.  

 

One adopted measure would establish a definition for cannabis that reads:

“Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae, of which Cannabis sativa, indica, ruderalis are species., and any hybridization thereof. This definition includes products that contain 0.3 percent or less of Total Delta-9 Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (also known as Hemp) and products that contain more than 0.3 percent of Total Delta-9 THC (also known as cannabis, marijuana or marihuana).”

It further proposes basic labeling requirements for cannabis products. Such items must capitalize and italicize the word “Cannabis” under the guideline, as well as denote that the product either “Contains 0.3% or less Total Delta-9 THC” or “Contains more than 0.3% Total Delta- 9 THC.”

Additionally, it says that the back or side panel on cannabis packaging must include “a declaration of the labeled cannabinoid per serving or application,” with a specification that “the cannabinoid quantity declaration shall be in milligrams.” The policy would go into effect starting January 1, 2025.

“The reason behind all of it is just to allow consumers and patients to understand what it is that they’re buying—clearly stated, what’s in it and how much,” Charlie Rutherford, co-chair of the NCWM Cannabis Task Group, told Marijuana Moment.

“That’s obviously fairness.”

The other adopted change to the NIST handbook would create water activity rules for the sale of bulk cannabis.

“When unprocessed Cannabis, is kept, offered, or exposed for sale, sold, bartered, or exchanged, or ownership transfers, the water activity shall be 0.60 (± 0.05),” it says.

For bulk sales of cannabis in liquid form, “the reference temperature for measurement shall be 20 °C (68 °F).” it says. “Products shall be delivered at a temperature within ± 2 °C (5 °F). Artificially heating liquids to temperatures higher than the specified limits is prohibited.” The same 0.60 (± 0.05) water activity standard would apply for liquid cannabis, too.

https://www.marijuanamoment.net/federal-standards-handbook-is-getting-new-sections-on-cannabis-packaging-labeling-and-storage/

 

 

'Our results demonstrate that the Sativa–Indica scale currently used to label Cannabis poorly captures overall genomic and metabolomic variation. Cannabis labelling is instead probably driven primarily by a small number of key terpenes whose concentrations contribute to the characteristic aromas commonly associated with Sativa and Indica and whose variation we genetically mapped to tandem arrays of terpene synthase genes on chromosomes 5 and 6. While the vernacular labels ‘Sativa’ and ‘Indica’ are derived from taxonomic names that were originally used to categorize plants according to ancestry, these terms have been co-opted by contemporary Cannabis culture and now probably reflect locus-specific genetic variation affecting terpene synthesis. Our results suggest that a practical and reliable classification system for Cannabis that is consistent with contemporary understanding of the terms ‘Sativa’ and ‘Indica’ may be achievable by quantifying a small number of terpenes and/or genotyping genetic markers associated with key Cannabis aromas.'

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41477-021-01003-y

 

'Now, the experienced cannabis connoisseurs are paying top dollar for live resin and hash-made edibles.

“The idea is to get the more true-to-flower experience,” Mograbi said.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/marijuana-edibles-makers-revamp-product-labels-to-attract-newer-consumers/

'If you’re looking to go pro-level customize and child-proof your mason jars with Re:Stash sleeves and tops. I use Canlok jars when I want to save a particular flavor for special occasions. I have some Purple Candy Cane from last year (or maybe 2019 – maybe 500 years ago, time is weird like that) in a jar in a desk drawer and it is still delicious and invigorating.

Keep in mind—pipe resin, already vaped bud, and bong water stinks; ash trays, too. So seal the AVB, trash the ash, clean your glass, and change the bong water. Take pride in your hobby, man.

And if you wanna be extra fancy, get a mini-fridge and use it as a weed-cellar. You can keep cannabis for months or even years if you store it correctly. Hope I helped you save your weed, and almost as important, your marriage. '

https://www.leafly.com/news/lifestyle/ask-ngaio-marijuana-aroma-tips


'Planning for what happens after a cannabis crop is harvested is as important as cultivating the crop.

That’s according to marijuana and hemp producers and processors who say drying, curing and storage are where the “magic is made.”

The drying process occurs after harvest, when newly cut plants are full of moisture or “wet,” and cultivators hang them upside down or cut the flowers off the plant to reduce the natural moisture from the plants.

After plants are dry, the buds are trimmed and stored in containers to stop the loss of moisture and preserve flavors and aromas.'

https://mjbizdaily.com/how-to-dry-and-cure-cannabis-to-ensure-quality-shelf-life/

'With over 1500 brands on the market, how can retailers know which brands to choose? Here is one retailer’s perspective on the best way to go about stocking your shelves with high-quality hemp CBD brands.'
https://www.supermarketnews.com/organic-natural/6-retailer-tips-stocking-high-quality-hemp-cbd-brands

 

'New rules stipulate that all cannabis products must be sold in child-resistant packaging, and must be lab-tested for potency and a variety of contaminants. Additionally, edibles will be limited to 100mg of THC per package, divided into 10mg servings.'
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/jun/29/california-cannabis-laws-product-destroyed


Am all for plain hemp bags for packaging...

'Plain packaging and health warnings may reduce brand appeal and increase health knowledge among young adults.'
https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-018-6247-2


'The beginning of a new year brings an opportunity to take stock of your cannabis business and ensure you’re doing everything possible to succeed. And because packaging is such a critical piece to brand wins and losses in this market, now is an ideal time to evaluate your process. It’s absolutely possible for your cannabis packaging to stand out while staying operationally efficient, it just takes careful planning. Get started with these four steps to streamlining your cannabis packaging process.'
https://thecannabisindustry.org/member-blog-streamlining-your-cannabis-packaging-process-four-steps-for-success/


'“The biggest barrier for edibles is not going to be solvents or pesticides,” Kaul observed. “It’s going to be label claims and the 10% (variance on potency levels).”'
https://mjbizdaily.com/why-marijuana-infused-businesses-have-experienced-testing-and-labeling-challenges-in-california/