Best of the Week: April 18– April 24, 2025
Here, we bring you our top five recent articles covering cannabis testing regulations, water usage in indoor cultivation, the PREPARE Act, delta-8-THC research, and a new grant program from the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management.
Let’s dive into the top stories shaping the conversation this week. Summaries of each article are listed below.
Our first article in the Best of the Week comes from Sherman Hom, PhD, Director of Regulatory Affairs for Medicinal Genomics Corp.
Before medical and adult-use cannabis were legalized in Illinois—10 and 5 years ago, respectively—the state’s regulators established a colony-forming unit per gram (CFU/g) limit for Total Yeast and Mold (TYM) testing. The state’s adopted microbial testing rules follow the American Herbal Pharmacopeia’s Cannabis Inflorescence monograph (2013), which set fungal limits for orally consumed botanical products and other cannabis products, such as flower at 10,000 CFU/g.
However, due to a transcription error, this limit was mistakenly lowered tenfold to 1,000 CFU/g instead of 10,000 CFU/g. As a result, Illinois adopted some of the strictest TYM limits in the country, making it difficult for flower samples to meet the standard, likely leading to the use of remediation techniques, which can introduce secondary safety risks, such as endotoxins.
2. Indoor Cannabis Cultivation Efficiency: Water Usage
In our upcoming March/April issue of Cannabis Science and Technology, we will cover various factors in efficiency in indoor cannabis cultivation.
In this video excerpt of our interview with Nadia Sabeh, PhD, founder and president of Dr. Greenhouse, we discuss water usage and conservation in indoor cultivation.
3. Bipartisan Legislation Introduced in Preparation of Federal Cannabis Legalization
In recent press release, Congressman Dave Joyce announced the reintroduction of bipartisan legislation to support cannabis legalization. Joyce, representing Ohio's 14th district, alongside House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who represents New York’s 8th district, introduced the Preparing Regulators Effectively for a Post-prohibition Adult-use Regulated Environment Act of 2025 (also called the PREPARE Act). Intended to create a process for establishing regulations for cannabis once its decades-long prohibition ends, the legislation also notes the widespread legalization of cannabis across the nation, the use of prohibition to systemize discriminatory practices against minority communities, obstructed access to its research, and other challenges.
4. Clinical Trial Finds Delta-8 THC Holds Similar but Milder Effects than Delta-9 THC
According to new research published in Drug and Alcohol Dependence, consuming delta-8 tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) orally causes dose-dependent psychoactive effects similar to delta-9 THC but were milder. The clinical trial sought to investigate the effects delta-9 THC and delta-8 THC have. Researchers affiliated with Johns Hopkins University utilized 19 healthy adults to gather their data. Participants were given brownies that had been infused with synthetic delta-8 THC (10, 20, 40 mg), synthetic delta-9- HC (20 mg), or a placebo. The trial made history as the first study in over five decades to look into the effects detla-8 THC has on human subjects.
5. Minnesota OCM Creates CanGrow Grant Program for Cannabis Farmers
In a recent press release, the Minnesota Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) disclosed their new $2 million CanGrow program aimed at helping farmers “enter and thrive” in the cannabis industry. The new program will provide training grants to organizations that are eligible and will assist farmers learn their way with the regulations of the legal cannabis industry.
The CanGrow training grant organization recipients will support farmers who are either wishing to begin or continue growing in the industry through training, technical support, and educational materials.
