Standardization News

Two new ASTM International standards will help in processing and handling cannabis. Both standards were developed by the organization’s cannabis committee (D37).

One of the new standards (soon to be published as D8233) focuses on cannabis packaging and labeling. The new guide will cover cannabis products for sale to adult consumers, authorized medical cannabis users, and caregivers in business-to-consumer, e-commerce, and other legal distribution environments. Andy Heins, vice president of All Packaging Company, and a committee member, adds that the standard could help regulators and policymakers in efforts to create or revise regulations.

“This guide was developed to provide municipalities with a comprehensive and logical document that supports public health and safety regarding consumption of cannabis resin-derived products,” Heins says.

The other new standard (soon to be published as D8245) presents guidelines for disposing cannabis raw materials and products containing resins. The new standard fills a void since there have been no unified guidelines in this area, according to member Darwin Millard, partner and cofounder at PhytoLogix.

“Ultimately, our hope is that cannabis producers will no longer have to treat the entire plant as a controlled substance,” says Millard. “This standard creates clear distinctions between those parts of the cannabis plant that are controlled and those that are not and provides guidelines on how to dispose of the controlled parts of the plant in compliance with international law.”

Millard notes that the standard could support global standardization of guidelines in this area as well as harmonization with the United Nations Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.

For more information on ASTM standards for cannabis, please watch this video.

ASTM welcomes participation in the development of its standards. Become a member at www.astm.org/JOIN. The next meeting of the cannabis committee is June 2-4, 2019, in Denver, Colorado, USA.

To purchase standards, contact ASTM International customer relations (tel +1.877.909.ASTM; sales@astm.org).