Members of the National Conference of Weights and Measures (NCWM) voted on Wednesday to approve a proposal governing allowable moisture loss in cannabis products, a change that is aimed largely at ensuring patients and consumers aren't sold products that weigh less than advertised.
The newly approved policy, which will be added to a federal handbook and provide national guidance to both hemp and marijuana markets despite marijuana remaining illegal at the federal level, says that products can lose up to 3 percent of their weight as the result of moisture loss. It's a recognition that some plant material may dry out during shipping or storage but purchasers still deserve their full purchase.
"In the retail Cannabis trade, insufficient attention and guidance is given to moisture migration in or out of some Cannabis packaging," the item on the NCWM agenda says, "and as a result, the contents of some Cannabis flower packaging have been found to be underweight, resulting in the patient/consumer paying for the weight they are not actually receiving."
In Oregon, for example, "underweight complaints are the #1 consumer complaint," according to the agenda's original justification for the proposal. "For the fairness and safety of Cannabis consumers," it says, a weight variance "based on enforcement of acceptable moisture ranges needs to be established."
Read more at marijuanamoment.net