A report on the some of our subdivision's activities at the Boston national meeting. The complete story is at the web site.

- Ralph

Recent safety incidents at US cannabis cultivation facilities have caused concern at the American Chemical Society's (ACS) autumn meeting. =E2=80=98I have a level of professional and personal concern about this new-born industry - while marijuana has been around a long time, at the industrial production level it is an infant,' stated Neal Langerman, a safety consultant and founder of Advanced Chemical Safety in California, during a session of the 256th American Chemical Society meeting in Boston, US on 20 August.

In July, there were reports that 16 employees at a large cannabis cultivation facility, Copperstate Farms, in Arizona sought emergency medical attention following a spill of the commercial greenhouse cleaner Strip-It. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has now inspected the facility and sanctions could follow.

Earlier this month, there was also an explosion at the Arizona Development Services cannabis facility that was caused by =E2=80=98improperly stored hazardous materials', according to the Casa Grande Dispatch.

=E2=80=98These were not home-grown idiots,' remarked Langerman, a corporate liaison to the ACS's committee on chemical safety. =E2=80=98These were industry sites.' He also referred to an assessment by Colorado researchers that found that there was =E2=80=98an imminent need to establish formal health and safety training to implement best practices' across the cannabis industry.

Andrew Pham, the new chairman of the ACS's cannabis chemistry subdivision, also expressed concern that the safety aspects of the rapidly expanding legal cannabis are being =E2=80=98pushed aside'. =E2=80=98What are the real repercussions, and are there any real dangers to public safety that we have to consider with cannabis being legalised?' asked Pham, who is scientific director at BelCosta Labs, a cannabis testing lab in California.


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