Op-Ed: Consumer Safety Is the Cannabis Industry’s Moment of Truth

By Adam Rothstein

The cannabis industry loves to talk about community.

We talk about the plant, the culture, the people who came before us. We talk about stigma, equity, and building something better than what existed before. But when it comes time to actually do something bigger than our own businesses, our own revenue targets or our own immediate self-interest, far too many of us quietly step away.

Not because we don’t care. But because it’s uncomfortable. Hard. Time-consuming. Politically messy. And frankly, unpaid.

I am not writing this from a place of moral superiority. I am writing it as someone who took a long time to step up, himself.

Like most people in capitalist America, especially in cannabis, I spent years buried in the day-to-day grind. Trying to build companies, manage partnerships, put out fires and survive in an industry that feels like it is constantly changing the rules mid-game. It is easy to complain about regulation, taxes and bad actors. It is much harder to stop, zoom out, and ask a more uncomfortable question: What am I actually doing to help build this industry long term?

For me, that question did not click overnight. But when it did, it hit fast.

The Meeting That Changed My Perspective

A few months ago, back home in Michigan, a friend and business partner invited me to sit in on a meeting with two companies: Vyripharm, a medical research company, and ABB, one of the largest robotics manufacturers in the world.

I have been to hundreds of cannabis facilities across the U.S. and internationally. Cultivation sites, extraction labs, manufacturing floors, you name it. But touring a robotics factory is something else entirely. The level of precision, automation, and accountability, and the scale are almost unsettling in the best ways. You cannot fake outcomes in those environments. And I can’t even begin to describe how many robots were in there!

As I listened to the teams talk, one thing stood out immediately. Their mission was not political. It was not ideological. It was simple: standardize cannabis testing at a federal level so consumers are protected every time, no matter where they live.

Vyripharm had the intellectual property and scientific framework. ABB had the robotics and automation expertise. What they did not have was someone to pull all the pieces together, define the full scope, and bring in the right partners across the industry.

I did not fully know why I was sitting in that room, but something in me clicked. My network is broad. This is what The Plug Society, or at least I, was built to do. And for the first time, I felt like all the experience I had accumulated over the years was pointing in one direction.

This was not just another business opportunity. This was a responsibility.

A Dinner, A Question, And a Door Opening

A few days later, I found myself at a private dinner in Virginia hosted by my friend Holden with Camaraderie Group, ahead of a banking and compliance conference called PBC in Washington, D.C. Across the table sat a gentleman named Morgan, Political Director at NORML.

Midway through dinner, he asked me a simple question: “Have you ever thought about lobbying?”

Honestly, I had. But I had no idea how to actually get started. Despite being 34 years old and working in a federally illegal industry my entire career, I had never even been to Washington, D.C. I had seen associations and advocacy groups from afar, but it always felt like a world you needed an invitation to enter.

That dinner was the invitation. I told Morgan about the ABB visit, about consumer safety, about testing integrity. He immediately connected the dots and offered to introduce me to Yasha, an industry friend of his from MCR Labs.

When Yasha and I spoke the following week, I understood why this work needed to happen now. He had years of lab testing data plotted across multiple cannabis markets, showing exactly what happens when regulators update testing rules and when they ignore science altogether.

The data did not argue. It showed cliffs. Moments where contamination dropped when standards tightened. Moments where potency fraud spiked when oversight loosened.

This was not ideology. It was evidence.

From Idea to Obligation

I introduced Yasha to the Vyripharm and Canalytics teams, and the reaction was immediate. Everyone understood the magnitude of what could be built together.

Through my partner Brent, Canalytics plays a critical role here. Real-time analysis of Certificates of Analysis can eventually help doctors, patients, breeders, and consumers make informed decisions, even down to the receptor level in the body. Furthermore, we can breed specific genetics based on effects we desire to get based on 10,000+ studies of cannabinoids, terpenes and the body. But this future only works if the testing itself is accurate, consistent, and standardized.

That is when this effort shifted from an idea into an obligation. I stepped into the role of project manager, connector and lead author. Not because I had all the answers, but because someone had to take responsibility for organizing the effort.

What emerged was no longer just a document. It became a Legislative Memorandum, and without initially realizing it, the early foundation of what is now being called the Cannabis Consumer Protection Act (CCPA).

Politics Accelerated

As the first draft of the legislative memorandum came together, the political landscape shifted quickly.

Hemp was suddenly at risk of being effectively banned through last-minute legislative language. Rescheduling versus descheduling cannabis returned to the spotlight. Federal-state hybrid compliance models became a real and active discussion. Lawmakers struggled to understand the difference between intoxicating hemp and THC cannabis, despite the fact that they are biologically the same plant.

That urgency changed everything. I realized that if the industry did not speak up collectively, Congress would still make decisions, but without us in the room. Those decisions would be based on partial information, political pressure, or outdated assumptions.

So I fast-tracked the legislative memorandum ahead of an upcoming IgniteIt conference in D.C. with one clear goal: make consumer safety the common ground everyone can agree on. And my superpower is bringing people together

Walking the Halls of Congress

My second trip to Washington, D.C. was unlike any conference or expo I have ever attended. IgniteIt was nearly all political discussion, which told me everything I needed to know. We are on the brink of change.

There were hundreds of industry leaders and experts in the room, and the panels were spectacular, but nearly all of them who didn’t live near D.C. took off back to their respective homes that Monday night after the event. Only one person I know stayed to do a few visits and tour the city with her mom, who was visiting (which was super cute!)

Walking through the House and Senate buildings the next two days felt surreal. I had heard stories about the underground tunnels connecting the offices, but experiencing them firsthand was different. There was a unique energy, especially after 5 and 6 PM, when offices were still open and staffers were still working.

I had one official meeting booked with Senator Elissa Slotkin’s team from my home state of Michigan. After that, I started knocking. Office after office. Introductions. Handshakes. Small talk. Dropping 5×7 flyers with my business card attached.

It felt like adult trick-or-treating for drug policy. Instead of candy, I was collecting follow-up contacts. And for those of you who haven’t had the opportunity to visit the capitol yet, it’s historic and very fascinating, so you should go! But to give you some fun context of the experience, these underground halls and buildings are kind of like a combination of The Matrix, Harry Potter and a really nice, old school college dorm hall (Big Ten or SEC style). Really nice buildings, everyone’s in suits & formal attire, offices are decorated on the outside with “flair” and accolades. The hustle and bustle is real out of random doors in long hallways.

By the end of the trip around pre-scheduled meetings, I had walked into 113 offices, including Mitch McConnell’s. Yes, the same Mitch McConnell who recently introduced language that could significantly impact the hemp industry. But if you are not willing to walk into the hardest room, you are not serious about change.

The Proof is in the Follow-Up

Having gone to roughly 200 expos and events in the last five years, I’d better be good at following up by now. I still had a long to-do list for my new company, The Plug Society, and follow-ups from the D.C. conference. It was the weekend ahead of Thanksgiving, and MJ Biz Con was right around the corner. Talk about cannabis PTSD!

I was told there was a timeframe of courtesy to get back to those you visited with or dropped into the office of, so I made sure I spent all day Saturday knocking those 113 emails out. To my surprise, I was getting some replies the same day and over the weekend ahead of the holiday, looking to schedule meetings and learn more. We’re talking a solid 10% response rate and here I was just hoping to land one. I know this is something we can all agree on, and there is an openness for collaboration, at least on the surface level, and that’s a start.

All of the interested legislative offices have been informed that this is a work in progress, and will continue to get monthly updates with new contributions, support/endorsements, etc. Once we have enough contributions and support, we will look for political partners to draft the House bill with.

Why the CCPA Matters Now & How You Can Help

The legislative memorandum that now underpins the Cannabis Consumer Protection Act covers standardized testing, robotics-driven compliance, federal-state frameworks, product-specific protocols, accreditation and real-world data from past regulatory failures.

More importantly, it is open.

I am actively looking for co-authors, sponsors, endorsements, and contributors across the industry. Lawyers. Doctors. Scientists. Operators. Regulators. Executives.

This will take a village. And villages do not build themselves.

We are up against massive, entrenched industries like alcohol, tobacco, and pharmaceuticals. But we also have something they did not have when they were built: decades of data, global case studies, and the opportunity to get it right before federal rules are locked in.

Federal change is coming whether we like it or not. The question is whether we show up together or let others decide for us. I am choosing to show up.

If you believe in safe access to cannabis, protecting consumers, and building an industry that can stand the test of time, I invite you to do the same.

Read the legislative memorandum. Contribute to the Cannabis Consumer Protection Act. Add your expertise, your data, your endorsement. Share it with your network to do the same.

Now is the time to have the village share its knowledge.

Cannabis Consumer Protection Act (Legislative Memorandum, Open for Contributors) here.

This article is from an external, unpaid contributor. It does not represent IgniteIt’s reporting and has not been edited for content or accuracy. 

Photo by Julia Koblitz on Unsplash