O P I N I O N
JACK PORCARI SENIOR CONTRIBUTOR
CANNABIS HAS A PACKAGING PROBLEM Whether it’s cartoon characters on the legacy market or unsustainable industry practices, cannabis packaging needs to be reimagined.
You might be noticing a trend that has infiltrated the cannabis space for quite some time now: problematic packaging. The problem is 3-fold. 18
CannaBuff.com FALL 2021
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irst, there’s the issue of excessive waste from the packaging of regulated cannabis products. Child-resistant and tamper-evident packaging is mandatory for cannabis in most states, so most brands use extra plastic in order to achieve compliance. The result is a massive amount of single-use plastic and other packaging waste ( just think of the amount of vape cartridges!). Next, we have problems in the grey market where clandestine sellers use counterfeit packaging that imitates regulated cannabis products from other states (usually California). Counterfeit dispensary packaging has been used in the underground market for years1. Most people just want something regulated, and how
can you blame them? As selling cannabis has become much easier, so has packaging and marketing it. However, when you can literally buy dozens2 of varieties3 of empty bags that look like real, regulated cannabis packaging, a big problem arises— counterfeit packaging. This brings us to our final issue. Copycat packaging that capitalizes off the brand recognition of similar non-cannabis products, often including blatant copyright/trademark infringement. This problem is especially concerning because it may increase the risk for accidental consumption (potentially in children). In Buffalo, the grey market is booming, and everybody wants a taste of it before regulations crush those without the capital to back their businesses. Although this fast-paced,
