Jennifer Guild
VP, Regulatory & QualityAbstraxJennifer Guild is VP of Regulatory & Quality at Abstrax and serves as a Board Member and VP of Standards for VapeSAFER.
In her role with VapeSAFER, she works with industry stakeholders, scientists, and policymakers to advance science-based standards and best practices that preserve consumer choice while supporting informed policymaking and elevating cannabis product safety.
At Abstrax, she leads global regulatory and quality strategy, supporting the development of compliant, high-quality flavors across international markets. Her work aligns innovation with evolving regulatory expectations, from ingredient safety and product standards to labeling and claims substantiation.
Mrs. Guild began her career in flavor chemistry before transitioning into regulatory affairs, bringing decades of experience across the food, beverage, cosmetic, and pharmaceutical industries. In 2017, she founded the Food Regulatory Guild to help manufacturers strengthen consumer trust through regulatory excellence. She began collaborating with Abstrax in 2019, bringing her cross-industry expertise to advance science-based policy and support responsible consumer access within the cannabis industry.
She holds a B.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from UC Santa Cruz and is a published scientist and international speaker on regulatory policy and product safety.
Building a Safety Standard for Cannabis Vape Products: A Science-Based Risk Assessment Framework for Manufacturers and Regulators
The cannabis industry operates without a harmonized product safety standard for products intended for vaporization and inhalation. Manufacturers face
…The cannabis industry operates without a harmonized product safety standard for products intended for vaporization and inhalation. Manufacturers face a patchwork of state testing requirements with no consistent methodology for evaluating whether a pr
…The cannabis industry operates without a harmonized product safety standard for products intended for vaporization and inhalation. Manufacturers face a patchwork of state testing requirements with no consistent methodology for evaluating whether a product is actually safe to inhale, and regulators lack a shared framework to assess the submissions they receive.
This session introduces a peer-reviewed, iterative risk assessment framework developed
The cannabis industry operates without a harmonized product safety standard for products intended for vaporization and inhalation. Manufacturers face a patchwork of state testing requirements with no consistent methodology for evaluating whether a product is actually safe to inhale, and regulators lack a shared framework to assess the submissions they receive.
This session introduces a peer-reviewed, iterative risk assessment framework developed specifically for cannabis inhalation products, built on decades of toxicological evaluation science from adjacent regulated industries. Drawing on real formulation and nonclinical data from an 8% terpene blend in THC distillate evaluated through targeted and nontargeted chemical analysis, aerosol characterization, stability testing, and in vitro toxicology, the panel will walk through what a credible product safety program actually looks like, where current standardized methods fall short when applied to cannabis matrices, and how manufacturers can begin implementing evidence-based risk evaluation today without waiting for federal guidance that may not come soon.
Learning Objectives:
1. Understand the structure of an integrated, iterative cannabis product evaluation framework from ingredient-level hazard identification through formulation assessment, nonclinical testing, and aerosol characterization.
2. Learn why standard ENDS testing methods developed for nicotine products require adaptation when applied to high-viscosity THC distillates and terpene-rich cannabis formulations.
3. Identify which chemical constituents in cannabis vape products (including carbonyls, metals, VOCs, and thermal degradation products) require targeted analysis and why nontargeted screening is essential for a complete safety picture.
4. Understand the role of stability testing in product evaluation and what chemical changes in cannabis vape formulations over a 12-month period reveal about formulation risk.
5. Learn how in vitro toxicology assays (cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, mutagenicity) can be practically applied to cannabis subcomponents and finished formulations, and what their limitations are in this context.
6. Recognize how lessons from tobacco and nicotine product regulation (including FDA's PMTA framework) offer a practical blueprint for cannabis manufacturers seeking to demonstrate product responsibility ahead of formal federal oversight.
7. Leave with a practical roadmap for implementing a tiered product safety evaluation program at your organization, regardless of scale or regulatory jurisdiction.
