MediJean, a medical marijuana company based in Richmond, is attempting to define the quality assurance standards that it believes must be met by all involved in the industry.
“Quality assurance is an initiative that we are taking seriously,” said Jean Chiasson, chief executive officer at MediJean.
“We have built a team that will ensure our standards meet or exceed the safety, quality and consistency of a ‘Ready to Eat Food’ product.
“It is our policy at MediJean to not only deliver quality, but breed it, to guarantee that patients who use our medicine get the best medical marijuana available.”
The Richmond News reported late last year how MediJean was backing the City of Richmond’s move to restrict and control the amount and location of medical marijuana facilities.
Pete Martin, who has over 35 years of experience in the quality assurance, quality control and quality services field, leads the quality assurance department at MediJean.
He has implemented an organized, systematic approach to product safety and security from a bacterial, chemical and quality perspective.
This means keeping the plants safe and secure from contamination and poor growing conditions, while ensuring a rigorous anti-contamination plan is followed from the time the seed is planted, to the moment the medicine is shipped to the patient.
“By implementing these principles we will ensure the medicine we produce is mould free, without the use of gamma radiation,” said Martin.
“We know gamma radiation is a preferred method for some in the industry, but it is not fool proof.
“Although it can kill the viable mould and possibly the mould spores, it will not impact the aflotoxins, many of which are carcinogenic.
“For us, it is important to protect our patients from being exposed to those.”
MediJean believes that if people are seriously evaluating medical marijuana providers, they must pay attention to the quality assurance standards that companies are adhering to.
The details of MediJean’s quality assurance plan will be maintained through daily supervisory and quality assurance checklists, weekly GMP facility audits, and monthly HACCP audits.
MediJean is leading the rebirth of medical marijuana through a laser focus on research, quality and patient experience by implementing best practices here and around the world.
Doctors and nurse practitioners will understand and safely prescribe it within a clinical framework, patients will have access to clean and affordable medicine, and research partners will help the company expand the frontiers of medical marijuana in the years ahead.
MediJean employs around 50 staff in Richmond — including PhD-qualified research and development directors.
MediJean's ultimate goal is to eventually set up production capacity on a global scale to supply patients with treatments for serious illnesses, such as cancer, multiple sclerosis and epilepsy.
