Michael Armstrong, Associate Professor of Operations Research in Brock’s Goodman School of Business, wrote a piece recently published in The Conversation about quality control in the cannabis industry.

Armstrong writes:

Canada’s legal cannabis industry continues to make progress. Product shortages are decreasing. Store numbers are increasing. And edible cannabis regulations have just been finalized.

With these basics falling into place, the industry and its regulators can focus more on competing with black markets. Product quality is one area where legal suppliers might have advantages. But to deliver good quality cannabis, producers must simultaneously aim for both careful science and carefree highs.

This dual goal is partly due to government policy. Cannabis producers and products are federally regulated, much like pharmaceuticals. Health Canada oversees producer licences, package designs and medical cannabis sales.

Meanwhile, cannabis retailing is provincially regulated, much as with alcohol. In Ontario, for example, one provincial agency runs wholesaling and online sales. Another handles retail licences and employee qualifications.

Continue reading the full article here.