Are You Overpaying For Pot Products? What A New Study About Cannabis Mislabeling Shows

Some 45% of cannabis products worldwide are mislabelled with higher than actual THC levels.

That's according to cannabis tech company GemmaCert, which reported the findings Tuesday as part of a 2020 study focused on the accuracy of marketed cannabis potency.

The firm studied more than 1.5 million potency scans across 35 countries on six continents.

What Happened

According to GemmaCert’s analysis, the U.S. had the smallest percentage of mislabeled products at roughly 30%. South Africa had the highest of 64%. In The Netherlands, as much as 41% of cannabis products are not accurately labeled. In Australia and Canada it was 37%, and in Israel — where GemmaCert is based — it was 38%.

THC Average

The global THC average in THC dominant flowers recently tested was 15.35%, while CBD in CBD dominant flowers was 8.9%.

Breaking down to countries and continents, the THC average in the U.S. was around 16.31%, in Canada 15.89%, in The Netherlands 15.54%, in Australia 15.61%, in Israel 15.72%, while in South Africa THC average was the lowest of 14.09%.

Based on a Washington study, cannabis products with labels stating THC levels of 15% or higher comprised 90% of sales.

The GemmaCert analysis says THC potency levels are on average higher than 15% in THC dominant flowers.

Why it Matters

Considering that products with higher levels of THC usually have higher price tags, GemmaCert warned consumers they could be “overpaying” the products.

“Cannabis companies need to do much more to ensure their labels are accurate. Otherwise, consumer trust will erode, and brands will lose value,” GemmaCert CEO Dr. Guy Setton said.

“GemmaCert’s solutions for cannabis testing empower companies to carry out rigorous, timely, affordable, and reliable in-house testing so that they can continuously verify label accuracy.”