FORT COLLINS, Colorado, November 22, 2019 – Headspace Sensory LLC today announced the results of a new scientific study that demonstrates vacuum-sealed cannabis cannot be identified by smell. The study also found that sniff panelists can easily detect cannabis contained in resealable sandwich bags and lightweight HDPE bags typically found in grocery store produce sections.
The study, accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed journal Science & Justice, was conducted by Headspace Sensory founder Avery N. Gilbert, Ph.D. and Colorado State University chemistry professor Dr. Joseph A. DiVerdi.
“We believe this is the first scientific study to address the smellability of cannabis in different types of packaging,” said Gilbert. “Cannabis is often transported inside sandwich bags and lightweight produce bags. This type of packaging leaks enough odor to be easily detectable at a close distance. In contrast, when the same amount of cannabis was doubly vacuum-sealed with a consumer food storage device, it was detected at only chance levels.”
According to the study’s authors, the findings are relevant to police investigations of drug possession. In many jurisdictions, the “in plain smell” doctrine allows officers to search homes and vehicles if they smell the odor of unburnt, dried cannabis flower. The new results suggest that, in cases where the cannabis is doubly vacuum-sealed, “in plain smell” assertions may not be supported by the evidence.
“The main odor components of cannabis are volatile terpenes,” says DiVerdi. “It appears these molecules can diffuse through some types of casual plastic packaging in sufficient quantity to be smellable at point-blank range.” He and Gilbert caution that, even then, the smell may not be detectable at a greater distance from the source, due to factors like diffusion and air flow.
“Our results also raise questions for consumers who buy marijuana at licensed dispensaries,” said Gilbert. “It’s unclear how good snap-top containers and other types of retail packaging are at concealing cannabis aroma. This is an area that needs to be explored with scientific methods.”
The study, “Human Olfactory Detection of Packaged Cannabis,” by Avery N. Gilbert and Joseph A. DiVerdi, is scheduled for publication in Science & Justice.
About Headspace Sensory, LLC
Headspace Sensory is a privately held startup based in Fort Collins, Colorado, founded in 2016 by smell psychologist and entrepreneur Avery N. Gilbert, PhD. The company is pioneering the sensory analysis of cannabis in order to bring consumers, product developers, and dispensaries into a rewarding conversation about the plant’s smell and taste. Headspace Sensory is the leader in cannabis sensory analysis, having published the first-ever consumer sensory study of strain-specific aroma in 2018, and a second study in 2019.
For more information about Headspace Sensory, visit http://www.headspacesensory.com
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