Here’s How To Keep Counterfeiters From Duplicating Your Marijuana Products

Flav packaging includes a tamper-resistant hologram seal and QR code from AuthentiBrand (Photo courtesy of Flav)

(This is an abridged version of a story that appears in the April issue of Marijuana Business Magazine.)

For years, counterfeiters have been creating and selling knockoffs of Rolex watches, Louis Vuitton handbags and Ray Ban sunglasses.

Now, it’s the marijuana industry’s turn.

Counterfeiters seeking to exploit the marijuana sector’s explosive growth are increasingly targeting knocking off cannabis products.

As a result, cannabis companies have stepped up their efforts to guard their products through such measures as trademarking or keeping closer tabs on their supply chains.

Counterfeiters are especially interested in disposable vape cartridges and are making knockoff versions of well-known brand names and logos that include Heavy Hitters, Brass Knuckles and Kingpen, to name a few.

But cannabis forgers are also taking stabs at imitating packaged marijuana flower products such as Canndescent, according to a recent report by California-based Mammoth Distribution.

How wide spread is the situation? Some attendees at MJBizCon in Las Vegas last November found knockoffs of their own products on the expo show floor.

“I had a half-dozen companies approach me at (MJBizCon), telling me that they had seen product that appeared to be theirs but was actually counterfeit,” said Peter Scheir, whose company, California-based AuthentiBrand, offers custom hologram and authentication solutions to various industries to help combat cheap imitations.

“I was flabbergasted, because … this is someone who had the gumption to walk into a major trade show and show it.

“To me, that could mean that the companies presenting the product didn’t even know they were counterfeit, or that they were colossally stupid or at least callous.”

Scheir and other experts shared some tips with Marijuana Business Magazine about how cannabis companies can protect themselves and their brands. Just click on the links below:

Original Article Source: https://mjbizdaily.com/how-to-keep-counterfeiters-from-duplicating-your-marijuana-products/

Comments

Mormon Church Faces Potential Lawsuit Over Medical Marijuana Opposition

Political committees concerned with marijuana law reform in four states have waged an information war over the past year, first to qualify cannabis initiatives for the ballot, and then to support or oppose those measures in the lead-up to last week’s midterm elections. In total, over $12.9 million in cash and in-kind services was spent attempting to convince voters about these marijuana ballot measures. Now that voters have had their say, Marijuana Moment decided to calculate how much each “yes” and “no” vote cost the committees on either side of the debate. Our calculations are based on dollars raised and disclosed before the election, since final totals of actual expenditures won’t be available until December or January reports required in the states that voted on cannabis. Michigan In Michigan, where voters approved marijuana legalization , our calculations show that the two anti-legalization committees spent about $1.28 per “no” vote, as they raised $2.37 million for ...

Mississippi Lawmakers Put Competing Medical Marijuana Measure On Ballot, Frustrating Advocates

A congressional committee approved two bills focused on marijuana and military veterans on Thursday. The action is the first markup of cannabis-related legislation on Capitol Hill this year. The bills approved by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee are geared toward expanding access to medical cannabis for the veteran population and increasing research into the plant’s therapeutic benefits for conditions such as chronic pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Veterans Equal Access Act, sponsored by Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), would allow doctors at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to recommend medical marijuana to their patients in states where it’s legal. It was approved in a vote of 15-11. “Today was a monumental day for our veterans. We have been working for years to reform this counterproductive policy that forces veterans outside of the VA to receive legal medical cannabis treatment for chronic pain and PTSD,” Blumenauer said after the vote. “This is...

NY Dem Chair Warns Against Passing Voter-Supported Marijuana Legalization Bill

The head of New York’s Democratic Party said on Thursday that if the state Senate votes on a marijuana legalization bill, his party’s lawmakers run the risk of alienating voters and losing reelection next year. Jay Jacobs, the state party chairman, claimed that several “far progressive” measures, including cannabis legalization, lack popularity in certain areas across the state such as Long Island and upstate New York. He cautioned lawmakers against putting the issue to a vote, arguing that voters would “throw us out of office.” “It could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he told Newsday. Polling doesn’t support that conclusion, though. According to a March 2019 survey from Quinnipiac, 65 percent of New Yorkers are in favor of allowing adults to legally possess cannabis for personal use. That includes 63 percent of respondents in upstate New York and 65 percent of those living in the suburbs. Sixty-six percent of independents statewide also back ending marijuana prohibit...

Norma Pence

Search This Blog