How much THC are patients getting when they ingest medicinal marijuana edibles? Likely more or less than is labeled on the product’s package according to a study from researchers at Johns Hopkins University and the University of Pennsylvania which showed that THC in edibles can vary from 1 percent to 155 percent the amount listed.
“Of the 75 products analyzed, only 17 percent contained the labeled amount of THC (allowing for minor statistical variations). Another 23 percent contained more than what was listed on the label while 60 percent had less THC than labeled.”
“About one-fifth of medical users depend on edibles nationwide, while nearly half of Colorado’s recreational sales have been for the products. While alleviating the need to smoke the plant material, edible products suffer from erratic absorption and delayed time to the onset of medicinal effects. Hence, aiming to start with a standardized, verified dose is an important step in predictable clinical treatment and research validity.”
Read the full study, published in JAMA: The Journal of the American Medical Association, and titled “Cannabinoid Dose and Label Accuracy in Edible Medical Cannabis Products.”
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