| On the cover of this month’s issue of Cannabis Business Times, you’ll see a terrific illustration from Cat Sims: A lab scientist-looking gentleman is inflating giant balloons that spell out “THC.” When I saw the drafts for this cover last month, I thought the image was perfect. THC potency inflation is a major issue across the industry (as recent federal racketeering lawsuits bear out), and it’s often the subject of small talk and industry chatter whenever a group of growers, retailers, product manufacturers or executives gets together at a trade show. Setting aside the federal illegality of cannabis, this commercial market dynamic is perhaps the greatest challenge facing the business right now. Why? Because inflated THC results undermine the relationship between consumer and brand. There’s nothing more important than simple trust in an emerging market like cannabis. Inflated THC results stomp on that nascent sense of trust and prey on consumers’ tendencies. It’s true, anecdotally, that many consumers shop for the highest THC levels. It’s also true that many other consumers have honed their purchasing habits to track terpene profiles, minor cannabinoid content and harvest dates—and perhaps even harvest regions—as the more specific criteria for their own cannabis use. In those informal trade show conversations, you’ll hear earnest pleas from growers and retailers alike to ramp up the education in the market and to redefine the way we talk about quality cannabis products. It's one thing to preach to the choir; it’s another matter entirely to reshape an industry before it’s even found a coherent identity in a country like the U.S. Taking a close look at the pervasive problem of THC potency inflation is a first step toward developing that identity. -Eric Sandy, Digital Editor | 