Editorial standards

• Our editorial team decides what we publish. Funders and anyone affiliated with a cannabis business never see our content before it is published, and they have no say in it.
• No one can pay for, sponsor or direct a CHSA article, alert, recall listing, Verify page or position.
• We don’t run paid advertising, sponsored content or affiliate links.
• CHSA does not test, certify or endorse products or retailers.

See governance and funding for how this is enforced.

Every article carries a label. Only safety alerts and CHSA positions use solid labels, so advocacy always looks different from education.

Safety alert

A current risk you should act on, based on an official source.

Explainer

How something works: testing, labels, rules. Neutral education.

Research explained

What a study or review found, and how strong the evidence is.

Policy watch

What a law or rule change does. Neutral; no position taken.

CHSA position

What CHSA thinks should happen. Advocacy, clearly marked as ours.

• Every number has a source and a date. If we can’t source it, we don’t publish it.
• We use primary sources first: laws, regulations, regulator pages, official data and peer-reviewed research.
• Sources are numbered on each page and listed at the bottom, with the date we checked them.
• Health and regulatory pages show when they were last checked and when they are next due. Pages past their review date show a warning.
• We quote recall and enforcement notices word for word and link to the official notice.

When we rate evidence, the rating applies to one specific claim, not to a whole page. The meter uses one color and always comes with a text label.

1. Strong evidence What this means

   We are confident. New research is unlikely to change this.

   Usually based on: Consistent results from several well-designed studies or systematic reviews, or the text of a law or regulation.

2. Moderate evidence What this means

   This is probably right, but new research could change the details.

   Usually based on: Good-quality studies mostly agree, but they have limits, such as size, length or who was studied.

3. Limited evidence What this means

   Early or mixed evidence. Treat it as a possibility, not a conclusion.

   Usually based on: A few small studies, studies that disagree, or mainly lab, animal or case reports.

4. Insufficient evidence What this means

   We don’t know yet. There isn’t enough evidence to say either way.

   Usually based on: Little or no research, or only expert opinion and personal stories.

• Health content is reviewed by a named, qualified reviewer before it is final. Their name and credentials appear in the “About this information” box on the page, with their conflict-of-interest disclosure.
• Until a reviewer signs off, the page says plainly that it is a draft.
• Safety alerts, recall listings and CHSA positions need two people: the person who writes it can’t be the person who approves it.
• Alerts that name a business are also reviewed by counsel.
• Every alert we publish is listed in our alert ledger. If it isn’t listed there, it isn’t from us.

Naming businesses and products

• We name a business, brand or product only when a regulator has named it in an official notice, such as a recall or enforcement action. We link to that notice.
• For counterfeits, we may name the real brand when a regulator or the brand owner confirms it, and we describe the brand as the victim.
• We never name anyone based on a tip, a social media post or a user report.
• We use the regulator’s own wording, and we update or remove the listing when the regulator does.
• Any business we name has a right of reply. It can reach us through our corrections page.
• Businesses tied to our directors, staff or funders get no special treatment. Alerts about them are published on the same terms as any other, with a disclosure line.

Naming people

• We say “cannabis” and “people who use cannabis.” We don’t use slang or labels that define people by drug use.
• We don’t name private individuals.

Some words promise more than any product, store or law can deliver. We don’t use them.

We don’t quietly edit mistakes away. Each correction is noted on the page and listed in our corrections log.