Special thanks to Bethany Moore for her research, editorial support, and coordination in preparing this article.
The call is coming from inside the house.
No, this isn’t a horror movie—but it should scare you. Because the biggest threat to the cannabis industry’s future isn’t federal prohibition or overregulation. It’s us. The people inside the house. The companies pushing products with no scientific backing. The lobbyists defending outdated myths. The advocates and operators who refuse to work together.
I’m speaking in support of Dr. Jahan Marcu’s latest article in Rolling Stone, one of the most humble and brilliant scientists in the cannabis space. The realism he brings to his writing might seem so sharp it borders on sarcasm, but it’s not sarcasm—it’s the truth. And sometimes, the truth hurts. His latest piece is a desperate call to arms, and we need to listen.
“These days, it feels like nobody truly cares about science or the people who use these products for medical reasons—and the available data reflects that apathy.” – Dr. Jahan Marcu, Rolling Stone
That quote hit me in the gut.
As someone who has spent years immersed in standards development for the cannabis and hemp industries, I’ve met hundreds of CEOs, compliance leads, investors, attorneys, and government regulators. Across the board, there is a common thread: no one wants to harm their customers, and everyone craves stability and a shared set of rules.
Where we diverge is how we get there.
Dr. Marcu’s article highlights foundational questions that remain unanswered:
- What is medicinal cannabis?
- What differentiates one product from another?
- At what point is someone intoxicated by a cannabis product?
- How do we understand ratios like THC:CBD and their varied effects on users?
We still rely on outdated categories like “sativa” and “indica,” even though they’ve been debunked repeatedly (e.g. Smith et al., 2022). Dispensaries offer only these buckets to confused customers. Is this Lemon Haze going to help me sleep, or is it energizing? Does it reduce inflammation or increase anxiety? Where is the science?
Dr. Marcu’s article rightly calls out how much of the industry’s research efforts “feel constrained by a desire to reinforce comfortable narratives rather than disrupt them.”
The reality is: many cannabis businesses are operating without a compass. They are navigating inconsistent regulations and competitive pressure while trying to stay afloat. But blaming inflated THC values on labs or blaming regulatory gaps on the federal government doesn’t absolve us. The hard truth? Regulators are more organized than we are. And that’s a problem.
CANNRA, the Cannabis Regulators Association, is actively engaging with stakeholders. They hold annual external meetings to hear from a diverse cross section of voices. Led by public health researcher Dr. Schauer, they’ve opened their doors to collaboration. Yet I constantly hear industry folks criticize or fear them.
So I ask: Have you shown up? Have you invited them into your house the way they’ve invited you into theirs?
We can’t keep meeting behind closed doors, stuck in the same silos of advocates vs. regulators vs. scientists vs. business operators. We need to come together.
Darwin Millard (aka The Spock of Cannabis), an (aka The Spock of Cannabis), an ASTM International standards leader, and Technical Director of CSQ, has a vision for just what this could look like and why it’s so important. “With so many warring factions in the U.S. cannabis industries (marijuana and hemp), we are our own worst enemy. To prove to regulators and legislators alike that the cannabis industries here in the U.S. are legitimate and stable, we need to come together as an industry with one cohesive voice. Because currently, we are drowning ourselves out in a sea of voices and agendas,” which can easily be perceived as self-serving and damaging to our credibility.
So how do we address this? “One solution might be to hold an emergency continental congress similar to how our founders organized and ratified the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. We get all the various stakeholder groups representing the cannabis industries together in a room and don’t let anyone out until we come away with a singular, unified industry voice and list of articulated specific demands and conciliations and lobbying strategy to present to state and federal level politicians” says Millard. Whether it’s a continent congress with locked doors or not, it’s clear that to be taken seriously by federal and state regulators and legislators, the industry must take an all-hands-on-deck approach, find a cohesive and unified voice that outlines the policy framework desired with scientific evidence to justify the position.says Millard. Whether it’s a continent congress with locked doors or not, it’s clear that to be taken seriously by federal and state regulators and legislators, the industry must take an all-hands-on-deck approach, find a cohesive and unified voice that outlines the policy framework desired with scientific evidence to justify the position.
David Vaillencourt, founder and CEO of The GMP Collective, Chairman of the Board for S3 Collective, and Vice-Chair of ASTM International Committee D37 on Cannabis Standards | Image Credit: © David Vaillencourt
The cannabis industry is uniquely diverse in its leadership: from legacy operators to university researchers, from public health experts to business developers, lawyers, and engineers. I’ve had the privilege to meet and befriend this diverse mix over the last seven years. Through these relationships, I’ve continually found that the most successful players are those who seek common understanding and use data to raise the bar, not weaponize or control.
And that’s what we need now: shared understanding, based on science.
That means embracing standards. It means integrating Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs) and consensus standards into your operations—not because a regulator told you to, but because it’s the right thing to do, and the smart thing to do.
I’m proud to serve as the Vice-Chair of ASTM International’s D37 Committee on Cannabis, formed in 2017 in response to a flood of inquiries to the 125-year old organization. At Committee D37, over 600 individuals spanning industry, government, academia, medical practitioners and more have embraced ASTM’s open, transparent, and impartial process for setting standards that are now being adopted by regulators domestically and embraced internationally.
Learn more about the importance of being a member of ASTM:
Cannabis stakeholders: It’s time to stop playing defense. Stop reacting. Start leading.
So, what is a struggling operator to do? Do you want to know how to protect your consumers? Invest in science.
Can’t afford to hire a full-time scientist? Then fund one. Donate to non-profit cannabis research organizations. Hire an outside consultant that knows the latest best practices published in the now over 60 ASTM cannabis specific standards. Their expertise can help you uncover your blind spots to reduce your operations risks. Build an advisory board of scientific minds.
Because, as the old saying goes, if you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu. You’re leveraging expectancy bias to sell products you don’t fully understand. You’re part of a system that uses synthetic cannabinoids to mimic effects without transparency. You’re running an operation that will suffer irreparable harm when you have your first product recalled or served with a civil lawsuit.
And it doesn’t have to be that way.
There’s a better future. One where we understand intoxication thresholds. One where we can accurately advise patients about cannabinoid and terpene ratios. One where product labels mean something beyond marketing fluff.
We are at a crossroads. And the path forward is paved with standards, science, and collaboration.
The question isn’t “why hasn’t anyone hired a scientist?” The question is: why haven’t you?
