Designing Packaging
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• Medical: Product contains high-THC content, designed for medical
use and prescribed by physicians, and destined for a medical dispensary (largely states where recreational cannabis is illegal save for those carrying a cannabis license)
• Recreational: High-THC content, designed for recreational use, and destined for a
medical/recreational dispensary (common in states where recreational cannabis is legal)
• CBD & Wellness: Low-THC (<0.3%)/high-CBD content, designed for self-administered (not physician prescribed) wellness and personal care purposes, and destined for retail shops that offer CBD-infused personal care products (common throughout the U.S.)
• Cannabis cultivator only: Also called ‘plant-touching’ businesses, these only produce the extracts from the plant or the plants flower.
• Cannabis cultivator and brand: This business both sells flower and extract to ancillary businesses, and produces a consumer product, either private label or own brand.
• Cannabis brand owner only: This business purchases cannabis flower or extract from cultivators, and processes/packages it for consumers.
• Retailer: Dispensaries tend not to package product – finished packaged goods are delivered to the retailer/dispensary.
• Distribution: Transportation of product. • Vertically integrated cannabis company: All of the above.
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• Which type of cannabinol are you packaging? CBD and THC are two of the most prominent
cannabinoids found in the cannabis plant. Both cannabis and hemp produce CBD and THC. However, cannabis has a higher concentration of THC. Hemp has a higher concentration of CBD. They are compounds that have an identical chemical makeup in terms of constituent parts, but the molecules are structured differently so the human body receives them differently. http://pwgo.to/7031 o All cannabis or hemp grown contains both cannabinoids, so there will be some combination of both CBD and THC present in the plant or flower. o CBD (cannabidiol) is a non-psychoactive compound, thus the compound is legal when the THC content is lower than 0.3%. It is not considered GRAS (generally recognized as safe) by the federal government, but individual states have different attitudes. o THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) produces the psychoactive results, known as the high. When THC makes up more than 0.3%, it becomes illegal in most states, though federal laws are in constant motion. Flower containing 5%-35% of the THC cannabinoid is used in commercial THC products intended to provide a high.
• In general, the following rules of thumb are true:
o CBD is largely associated with health and wellness-minded: ■ Topical balms, topical creams, essential oils ■ Edible/ingestibles, as gummies, chocolates, or beverages ■ Ingredients in pet foods o THC is associated with recreation and high seeking (or pain relief as administered by a physician): ■ Vape (oils) ■ Flower, in bud form or pre-rolled marijuana cigarettes ■ Edible/ingestibles, as gummies, chocolates, or beverages
• Know your products’ THC and CBD content before beginning commercial manufacture or
packaging, and above all, always consult the FDA and state codes for what’s currently the law of the land in your location. http://pwgo.to/7032
• Terpenes - Secreted in the same plant glands that produce cannabinoids (THC and CBD), terpenes
are aromatic oils that impart distinctive flavors and smells, like citrus, berry, mint, and pine, and may be responsible for some pharmacological benefits. Though terpene content is not normally required as part of a label claim, it may be desirable to some consumers who seek out certain tastes or smells.
• Regulations on variable data (THC, CBD, terpenes, batch and dates) that must be printed on labels vary state-to-state.
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Child resistance (CR) (http://pwgo.to/7043): Whatever the format, cannabis must be packaged in child-resistant (CR) containers. Complicating this, cannabis can be prescribed for chronic arthritis or certain geriatric diseases wherein child-resistant containers may also exclude those experiencing difficulty using their hands. Consider your intended audience, and always consult the following: • CPSC — The United States Consumer Product Safety Commission: http://pwgo.to/7033 • The PSC’s The Poison Prevention Packaging Act (PPPA): http://pwgo.to/7034 Tamper evident (TE) packaging (http://pwgo.to/7281) • Tapes/p-s tamper evident labeling • Shrink bands for jars or full shrink sleeves for J-Tubes Viewability of product – state may allow clear, or require opaque packaging Freshness of product – flower in particular, which can dry out and degrade THC, CBD, terpenes • Humidity packs for freshness • Airtight and hermetic seal – keep the product fresh Exit bags – varies state by state, often required to be opaque and avoid branding • Stickers, digital printing or secondary labels may be required with batch specific info, including: manufacturing dates and testing information depending on the cannabis product and state, such as THC content and pesticide analysis. These are applied post-fill after a batch’s results are received. General Note – different rules in Canada: Canadian operations are required to print much more legal info on packaging, so packaging is much larger in size. For a flower jar, a 1-g flower purchase may come in a 4-g jar. False bottom is used to present product at the top of the jar and hide wasted space. Also common to use secondary packaging, less frequently required in the U.S. Extra packaging impacts sustainability.
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• Jars – threaded cap with separate closure, choose regular or with integral CR • Drams – pop top with lid attached, integral CR mechanism on most/all drams • Jars/drams both stand to benefit from sourcing ocean plastic lids • Mylar bag – moisture and light barrier properties, can be printed, mylar back, clear front • Secondary packaging considerations
o Label on Mylar o Label on jar/dram o Paperboard box around a jar o Print onsite with own printer (consider deli style retail, weigh and label in-store, as in Oregon) vs. order printed p-s rollstock
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• Grinder – To make the irregularly shaped and
sometimes sticky cannabis flower more suitable for pre-roll cigarettes, and to give the contents of the pre-roll a consistent granularity that fully fills a pre-roll cone, a grinder is often used. High-end cultivators trim the cannabis plant so only the high value flower, or bud, is left, then grind that material into a consistent granularity that will fill pre-rolls. Other cultivators may select to also use shake, the lower value leaves that don’t constitute the bud or the flower. Most portions of the cannabis plant can be ground into a granulate for smoking in a pre-roll, but the quality, flavor, and THC content is concentrated in the higher value flower, or bud.
• Sifting – create a uniform granulation, remove stems
or other undesirable debris
• Pre-roll cone materials – research advantages/ disadvantages of each o Blunt Wrap (made of hemp, not tobacco) o Botanical Wrap o Hemp Paper o Unbleached (Dutch brown) o Palm Leaf o White Paper (also called rice, bleached or refined paper)
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DON’T USE A BLENDER Don’t want to pulverize to too fine a dust, burns hot and slow, and degrades terpenes (flavor & smell)
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• Pre-roll tips, crutch, or filter – filter is a bit of a misnomer here since rarely would a cannabis brand choose to truly filter the smoke of a cannabis pre-roll. Instead it serves to out debris, to avoid mouthfuls of debris, but doesn’t filter out THC, carbon monoxide, or tar. There is no molecular filtration. A pre-roll filter or spacer gives a consumer a place to hold the pre-roll between fingers or lips without fear of either wasting the cannabis contents to saliva soak-through or burning fingers or lips when trying to smoke the last bit of the expensive product. Generally, this is made of a heavier gauge fiber-based paper, perhaps of the same material of the pre-roll paper, but folded into the shape of a cylinder. Structurally, a chevron or flute of the same material may be used inside the cylinder to support and maintain the tubes shape, from one continuous piece of paper, even when pinched between fingers or lips, and help prevent larger pieces of the burning material from being inhaled. The spacers or filters can carry custom messaging or logos that are either visible through the thin external cone rolling paper, or an external wrap or cigar wrap can be added, containing branding and logos. All crutch/filter manufacture is done by suppliers. o 26 mm – most common in industry o 21 mm – growing in popularity, “dogwalker”-style, smaller than 0.5 g o 30 mm or 40 mm, specialty ‘blunt’ style pre-rolls
• Premium Tips – Higher end version of a filter or crutch, made from wood, glass, or even corn husk
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• Pre-roll joint-tubes (J-Tubes, pop tops) – tubes are generally intended to safely contain (via CR closure) one large or several smaller pre-rolls. Protects product on-the-go. Can carry decoration, labels, etc. o Standard injection-molded plastic Pop top, with CR built in ■ Virgin polyurethane ■ Ocean plastic or reclaimed plastic ■ More biodegradable options arriving on market o Glass – more premium, luxury brand, better oxygen barrier o Branding – can be applied by supplier, or in-house with equipment ■ Labeling with p-s label, may require additional tamper evidence step ■ Shrink sleeve, in one motion, you get branding + tamper evidence
• Pre-roll cases – come in all shapes and sizes. Requires CR and tamper evident, state-by-state o Traditional tin (“dogwalker” cases) – CR mechanism is in secondary or tertiary package, often in a paperboard external case, branded or unbranded o Paperboard with CR mechanism, branded or unbranded o Cigarette box – traditional perforated o Plastic (polyurethane) with CR mechanism, branded or unbranded o Insert options ■ Dividers – plain or printed/custom, paperboard or thermoformed plastic ■ Branding inserts ■ Lighter tray/hemp wick/glass or wood tip accessories o Secondary packaging ■ Paperboard sleeve ■ Overwrapping (tamper evidence+ freshness)
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• Ground rules vary by state, consult local regulations
o Some states don’t allow for realistic depictions of food (cherries, nuts, etc.) to appear on-packaging o Appealing to children is heavily frowned upon by regulatory bodies. Avoid caricatures, cartoons, or other branding/decoration that could be perceived as appealing to children o In some states, warning symbols are required to be imprinted on the product itself (molded into chocolate or gummy) out of an abundance of caution. These are not universal, rather are statespecific, so you may be limited by a certain dimension of required font o Some states require track and trace and serialization, check local regulations. ■ Some packaging suppliers offer as a value add for customers to trace product and get details, collect data, etc. ■ To see the test results for a product, a customer can enter (http://pwgo.to/7044) the last three or four digits of the batch number on the product label for insight into third party lab test results (terpenes that are in each strain, CBD, or THC percentages) via company website. o Dosing limitation methods vary by state ■ Dosing limitation of THC per for each individual piece of edible candy/chocolate (e.g., no more than 5 mg per individual gummy) ■ Dosing limitation of THC for an entire pack containing one or multiple pieces (e.g., pack can contain no more than 100 mg, regardless how many pieces are within) o Homogeneity regulation in batches of homogenized, batch-based food products o Variance on test results – 3rd party testing looks for limited variance. Variance range varies by state, and by category (medical vs. recreational)
• Gummies
o Foiled multilayer pouch ■ CR-certified closure ■ Tamper evidence (heat seal) ■ Multilayer laminate with layers that provide properties such as • Puncture/tear resistance • Moisture barrier to prevent sticking
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• Oxygen barrier to prevent oxidation/quality degradation • Print quality
o Substrate layer to accept ink o Sealant layer to protect decoration • Display options o Optimized for lay-flat display o Stand up (gusseted) • Display environment o Jewelry case o Retail ready carton o Hanging • Printed to include o Warning language o Ingredients (preferred, not always required) o Allergen statement o THC/CBD content o State-specific marking o Dram or jar. HDPE most common – some retailers may not prefer this style since there is only so much space in a vault, and these may contain a lot of empty space. Since they’re rigid, they can’t be pressed together to save space ■ CR-certified closure (push down/turn style, adapted from pharma) ■ Induction seal for freshness, depending on product requirements ■ Label includes • Warning language • Ingredients (preferred, not always required) • Allergen statement • THC/CBD content • State-specific marking
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• Chocolate bars
o Paperboard carton, CR-certified sleeve with PP tray o Paperboard carton, CR-certified sleeve with flow-wrapped internal bar pack o Pouch, CR-certified with internal flow-wrapped individual pieces (no loose pieces in the bag)
• Hard candy/mints/tarts/chewable tabs
o Tins – “Altoid” style with CR-certification ■ Tamper evidence • Shrink wrap • Pressure sensitive label ■ Upgrades include internal dividers (usually paper) to keep individual candies from interacting with one another, chipping, breaking, etc. o Drams (HDPE) with CR ■ CR-certified closure (push down/turn closure function, borrowed from pharma) ■ Induction seal for freshness ■ Label includes • Warning languageww • Ingredients (preferred, not always required) • Allergen statement • THC/CBD content • State-specific marking
• Beverage
o On-container labels include ■ Warning language ■ Ingredients (preferred, not always required) ■ Allergen statement ■ THC/CBD content ■ State-specific marking o Aluminum cans – A CR-certified can topper closure (similar to HDPE can handles for 4- and 6-packs) may be required ■ Printed cans – infrequent except for the highest volume producers, due to high MOQs (minimum order quantities) ■ Shrink sleeve labels (printed PET-G film most common) • Likely lowest cost for smaller volume producers
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• Consider possible product interaction when exposed to heat in heat tunnel
■ Pressure Sensitive Labels • Can be hand-applied without heat • Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) have more trouble recycling these o Bottles – A CR-certified can topper closures may be required. Advantage over aluminum cans with pop tops is that closures allow for multiple servings, and storage in the refrigerator. Pop top cans tend to be single-serving items. ■ Glass – good hand feel, but shatter proneness can be a problem • Shrink sleeve labels (printed PET-G film most common), may need to cover entire product o Lower lowest cost for smaller volume producers o Consider possible product interaction when exposed to heat in heat tunnel • Glue-applied labels o Low cost o May not cover entire bottle, and may need to depending on local regulations • Pressure Sensitive Labels o Can be hand applied without heat o Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) have more trouble recycling these o May need to consider covering entire container, including neck and toe ■ Plastic (same labeling rules apply) • PET – most common, easily recyclable. If clear, may require full label enclosure • HDPE – also recyclable, usually can be purchased opaque (not clear for compliance)
• Concentrates - highly potent extracts that can be used by the consumer in a variety of ways. Various wet or drier forms, from highly viscous resins to crystalline structures. o Typically come in small glass jars for easy access to product, often in 1-g quanities
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• Tinctures
o Typically a 1-fl-oz or smaller glass bottle (amber, frosted, clear, or opaque) with CR eye dropper for measuring. Then placed in paperboard carton. o PS label - consider smudge-proof/resilient label as customers may spill drops or hands could be oily handling the bottle, or in case of product leakage.
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• Syringes – Glass, needleless. Consumers can use to apply product to food/beverages or sublingually like a tincture. Benefit here is accuracy in measuring (especially for medical uses such as seizures, arthirits where a patient or parent may want high accuracy).
• Transdermal patches – (i.e. for sleep, pain). Typically packaged individually in laminated pouches inside of a carton.
• Sublingual strips – paperboard outer cartons or in plastic casing similar to Listerine strips (Note: THCcontaining products may require CR).
• Topical products – some are CBD only, while others contain CBD and THC. Topical THC containing products likely require CR depending on state. o Pain relief sticks in twistup chapstick-style container o CBD lotion in airless pumps o Balms, bath salts in jars (plastic or glass) also benefit from reclaimed ocean plastic lids
• Blister CR pack
• Hanging CR pouches
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• All are subject to variable state regulations on labeling, warning stickers, messaging, and claims about THC/CBD content
• Paperboard CR sliders • Plastic CR cases
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A: Automation will allow you to increase production volume with less staff, but that does not mean you are looking at future layoffs. Automation will replace some jobs but will also create new opportunities for staff. According to the World Economic Forum (WEF), machines and algorithms are expected to create 122 million new jobs by 2022, even as they displace 75 million. The WEF recommends that you reskill and retain your workforce. Automation allows you to let a machine handle the repetitive, potentially dangerous tasks, while reallocating your current staff resources to select areas where you need them the most. One of the best ways to retain employees in this competitive job market is to provide them with opportunities for growth. Expand your volume by letting automated machinery handle a repetitive process while training your staff to operate, maintain and complete minor repairs to the machinery. This will save you the cost of machine maintenance while giving your employees valuable skills that they can use to springboard their career to better compensation and longer tenure.
A: While automating the entire process may make sense for some companies, most will benefit from exploring piecemeal automation installations. This approach takes advantage of the budget you have available now and allows you to immediately increase production volume. Partner with a vendor that understands this piecemeal approach and provides modular equipment that can be easily upgraded or modified to be part of a bigger system in the future. When working with customers on what part of their process to automate, I generally suggest that we continue to use their employees for the most value-added tasks such working with and manipulating valuable product. We can then automate the tasks that are labor-intensive but low value add – such as tray denesting, or secondary packaging tasks like carton erecting, cartoning, case packing, labeling, etc. And finally, I suggest we use automation where it may improve a process or reduce the risk of workplace injury.
A: While it depends on what type of machinery you invest in, you should expect to see a full return on your investment within the first 9 to 24 months. You can expect that most machinery will last you 10 to 15 years. So, if you’re considering your automation options, make future upgrades part of the conversation with your provider.
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Many of the market’s best automated solutions prioritize flexibility and machines with upgrade capabilities. Make sure your supplier offers module solutions that can be easily upgraded as your format needs change.
A: Quality control improvement is easily one of the key benefits of implementing automation. Look for the solutions that can address specific challenges in your process. Choose a vendor that has experience in other regulated industries, such as pharma or med device. They can help you navigate the huge range of quality control technologies, from checkweighers to intelligent camera inspection. Jon.gice@mgsmachine.com
Instead of re-inventing the wheel, Packaging World found quite a few valuable, accurate glossaries of cannabis- and cannabis packagingrelated terms. Here are a few for your reference.
• National Environmental Health Association’s Cannabis 101 (general cannabis terms) http://pwgo.to/7035
• PotGuide.com’s Marijuana Glossary (general cannabis terms) http://pwgo.to/7036
• Marijuana Packaging Solution’s Marijuana Packaging Glossary (packaging specific) http://pwgo.to/7037
• Flowhub.com’s Glossary of Dispensary Terminology (dispensary specific) http://pwgo.to/7038
• Cannvista Wellness’s Alphabetical Glossary of Cannabis Terms (general cannabis terms) http://pwgo.to/7039
• Wikipedia’s Cannabis Glossary (general cannabis terms) http://pwgo.to/7040
• MarijuanaPackaging.com’s Glossary of Common Cannabis Extract Terms http://pwgo.to/7041
• Berlin Packaging’s online selection http://pwgo.to/7042
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