Did I Just Buy Cannabis Hype? From Boof to Receivership: scaling for quality in cannabis
Graded and cataloged, cannabis-derived terpenes [CDT] stored in 250mL media bottles.
With 50 cannabis business licenses surrendered in Massachusetts in the past year, the old guard is dying, and I know why. Stopping at the dispensary on my way home, I give a quick nod to the door staff, hand over my license and skim the monitors as I queue up while getting my mobile order ready. I’m next. I’m called over to the counter, and I get that familiar, 14-year-old-staying-out-all-night rush — I’m buying weed! Just as quickly, it fades, and I’m back out into the sunlight. Another familiar feeling creeps in: product anxiety — a common reaction in an industry continually on the defense of consistency, quality, and consumer trust.
In other established industries (pharmaceuticals, food processing, etc.), one solution to quality and operational flexibility has been standardized off-the-shelf intermediates. These are bulk-stored, semi-finished cannabis constituents that bridge gaps between primary extraction and a retail-ready product. Think of them as the well-trained understudies of manufacturing, each ensuring the show goes on flawlessly.
Depending on the workflow, off-the-shelf intermediates include distillates, sauce fractions, dry sift, full-spectrum oils, pre-extraction biomass, crystalline forms of THCa, CBD, THCv, CBG — and, predictably, in my labs, fully outfitted terpene libraries. Whether the form factor is a powder, solid, or liquid, the core concept remains the same: a standardized set of ingredients, already quality-checked, stored, and cataloged, mirroring the protocols found in cGMP and HACCP guidelines.
Distillates, sauce, THCa, and full-spectrum oils in queue for production.
Quality control becomes even more straightforward. An in-house QA/QC lab adds a secondary channel of analytical feedback, reducing downtime between production sequences for specification attainment validation. Some evolved facilities collaborate directly with outside testing agencies to standardize QA/QC protocols, ensuring internal results mirror external analyses. The outcome is a shorter feedback cycle and a little less fifth-business-day anxiety over test results.
Does it matter? Imagine Operations as the Vienna Philharmonic. Intermediates are the notes and chords to the UX music in the product. Each instrument — each intermediate — must hit precisely timed flavor notes, aromas, and effects, all tied together in concert. A single section falls out of sync, and the entire performance suffers. When your equipment goes down (and it will at the most inopportune time) or supply chain delays strike, a solid reserve of standardized intermediates keeps production from grinding to an absolute halt. This way intermediates shift support structures away from the reactive fire-and-water mindset and toward a framework with fewer intangible unknowns.
Ultra-low-temperature environment intermediates in stainless steel vessels.
So, where does this leave cannabis operators looking to excel in an increasingly competitive landscape? It starts with a pilot program: select your highest-selling SKU and create a stable intermediate pipeline. Use analytics from this pilot to fine-tune internal quality checks and refine the overall process. Suppose you’re still relying on outdated methods to track processes. In that case, it’s time to adopt a visually recognizable Kanban system that keeps your team informed — especially in areas where huddles can fall short. Finally, formalize procedures with well-structured documentation practices. This isn’t just about regulatory compliance; it’s about building a stable (well, cannabis-stable) working base for future innovation and growth.
The era of sporadic quality and questionable strategy is finally dying, making way for a more disciplined and systematic approach to operational excellence in cannabis manufacturing. By focusing on standardization through planned intermediates, companies enhance operational stamina and raise the stakes for a higher bar in the industry. It may not have the same punch as the latest Cereal, Gas, or Soda terpenes in my walk-in freezer, but in an insular market where you’re always one mistake away from ruining all the attaboys, small revolutions redefine quality standards.
In the end, as cannabis consumers, we don’t ask for much (we do). We want products that stoke that same familiar, 14-year-old-staying-out-all-night feeling inside us, coiled up like a spring — but without the inevitable product-regret hangover in the morning.
Jarod Noble Harvey is a cannabis consultant specializing in Product UX, Manufacturing Operations, Terpenes, and Commercial Strategy.
Connect: LinkedIn | X/Twitter | jarod@pivot-manufacturing.com
