The cannabis industry faces a critical challenge: the singular focus on THC percentages has created a marketplace where other valuable plant qualities are overlooked. During a recent Qredible Live broadcast, Pierre Killeen, Executive Director of the Cannabis Standards Alliance of Canada (CSAC), addressed this fundamental issue.

"There's much more to the plant, the power of the plant than that cannabinoid," Killeen emphasized, pointing to a broader quality framework that includes terpenes and other compounds that contribute to the plant's therapeutic effects.

How Regulatory Frameworks Created the THC Obsession

The current consumer fixation on THC didn't emerge by accident. As Killeen explains, it's a direct result of how cannabis is regulated and presented:

"You walk into a dispensary, you see a display board and you see the names of these products and you see the THC number...and then you see price...automatically that's the construct with which a consumer starts to make decisions."

This regulatory approach has inadvertently trained consumers to value one characteristic above all others, reducing a complex plant with hundreds of compounds to a single number.

The Full Spectrum Problem: When Definitions Matter

THC inflation isn't the only quality issue facing the industry. Killeen points to similar problems in the extract category:

"We have a truth and labeling problem in the extract category, where you're seeing 'this is a full spectrum extract' but actually it's a blended extract which could be 49 or 52% distillate, and because there is no oversight and frankly no common definition of what a full spectrum extract is, these claims are being made."

Without standardized definitions and quality metrics, consumers have no reliable way to compare products or understand what they're purchasing.

Create Standards That Match Industry Realities

Traditional regulatory tools struggle to keep pace with cannabis product innovation. "Our regulatory tool set is really based on industrial age technology," says Killeen. "We find ourselves at a time and in an industry which evolves so quickly that that old tool set's never going to be able to deal with so many of the issues and challenges."

This mismatch between regulatory capability and industry innovation requires a new approach to quality standards—one that can adapt quickly to emerging product categories and technologies.

The Medical Market: Where Quality Standards Matter Most

While quality concerns affect all cannabis consumers, they're particularly critical for medical patients:

"If you look at this from the context of a medical cannabis patient who relies on these products for therapy, or a practitioner who's trying to authorize use of one of these products, we have an issue if you can't trust what's on the label," Killeen points out.

CSAC plans to introduce its quality standards first in the medical marketplace, providing certified products to patients and practitioners who need reliable, consistent medicine.

Build a Quality Framework Through Collaboration

CSAC's approach to quality goes beyond simply policing THC numbers. The organization is building a comprehensive quality framework through industry collaboration:

"We are all committed to doing the right thing for medical cannabis and medical cannabis patients," Killeen explains. "Frankly, probably most people who consume cannabis, there's a therapeutic reason there."

By bringing together experts from across the industry, CSAC is developing best practices that account for the full complexity of cannabis products while respecting the dynamic nature of the market.

Change Consumer Education

A critical part of moving beyond THC fixation is consumer education. The current approach to product information creates a narrow view of value:

"We have the regulatory framework that constrains how we talk about this...that's kind of stunted the development of any kind of vocabulary or any kind of language that we can use to talk to consumers about this product," notes Killeen.

As quality standards develop, they can help expand the conversation, giving consumers new ways to understand and evaluate cannabis beyond simple THC percentages.

Industry-Led Quality Standards

The solution to these complex quality issues, according to Killeen, isn't more government regulation but rather "industry self-regulation as the way to develop a shared set of rules, oversee compliance with those in order to create a business environment that is more conducive to financial sustainability of companies and social responsibility of companies."

This approach recognizes that those closest to the plant often have the most insight into appropriate quality metrics and standards. By harnessing this expertise through collaborative standard-setting, the industry can create quality frameworks that benefit everyone in the supply chain.

Cannabis Quality Standards as a Unifier

Killeen concludes with a reminder of cannabis's fundamental nature: "When you think of this plant cannabis, it's meant to bring people together in a spirit of collaboration, relaxation, and joy. Let's try and use that spirit—we got enough dividers in this world, and there's unfortunately too much dividing us in this industry."

By focusing on comprehensive quality standards rather than competing over-inflated THC numbers, the cannabis industry has an opportunity to fulfill this unifying potential, creating products that truly reflect the plant's full spectrum of benefits.