As cannabis evolves into a global industry, True Terpenes is leading with what matters most: science, safety, and smart expansion. The Oregon-based company is not only pioneering terpene innovation—they’re setting a new international benchmark for consumer health and regulatory excellence. At the center of this mission is Dr. Shawna Vreeke, PhD, DABT, a certified toxicologist who built the company’s safety program from the ground up and continues to guide its global footprint.
“I’m the Director of Toxicology at True Terpenes,” Vreeke explains. “I created our toxicology program, which essentially reviews every ingredient that we use for safety based on publicly available scientific data..” This is the framework that became the ASTM Global standard. Dr. Shawna Vreeke established a groundbreaking toxicological review standard for vape safety and ingredient quality through ASTM International, setting a globally recognized framework that the EU market can now adopt to build a cannabis industry rooted in science, integrity, and consumer trust from the very beginning.
Vreeke came to cannabis through chemistry, earning her doctorate under Professor Robert Strongin, one of the first researchers to receive FDA funding to study nicotine vaping. “My research project was on toxin formation from electronic cigarettes, which… transfers over to cannabis vapes because [they’re] very similar devices.”
At True Terpenes, she’s turned that deep scientific training into a system of protections that are unmatched in the cannabis industry. “We were the first terpene company to be cGMP. We were the first to get FSSC22000 and ISO 9001:2015 certifications. We’re really the first company to get a toxicologist on staff to even start [saying] like, Hey, let’s make sure all the ingredients we’re using are also okay for human health.”
Each terpene undergoes its own risk analysis, regardless of origin. Some, like limonene and beta-caryophyllene, have high safety profiles. Others, like pulegone—even when naturally found in cannabis—demand more careful attention. “That needs to be thought of when manufacturers are creating these blends.”
Vreeke also reviews how ingredients behave under heat, especially for inhalable products like vapes. “I also like to factor in when heat is going to be applied to that compound, what happens.”
True Terpenes’s safety-first approach stems from a core belief: consumers shouldn’t need a chemistry degree to trust what they’re buying. “They should be able to go into a store and be confident that what they’re buying from a legal store is going to be okay for them to consume.”
As legalization spreads internationally, that belief travels with them. Europe is now a key focus for the brand, where Vreeke is helping manufacturers and regulators understand how terpene science fits into a maturing cannabis economy. “I am educating manufacturers not just on toxicology and safety… but also on effects-based [formulation]. I have to read thousands of papers… so I understand effects and benefits and formulations as well as the safety and toxicology of all these ingredients.”
She sees parallels between early U.S. markets and Europe’s current landscape—and knows what comes next. “Give it two years and they’re going to have vapes and dabs,” she says of Germany’s developing market. “And I think the fact that Germany is kind of leading the charge is really promising… They’re kind of breaking the rules for once.”
The international push isn’t just about product—it’s about policy. Vreeke is working directly with lawmakers and agencies to shape the regulatory frameworks cannabis companies will operate under. “We want to get into communication with both [manufacturers and regulators] because if both parties aren’t aligned, then the market’s just going to crash.”
That real-time engagement is what excites her most. “I get to do [education and policy] in Europe now with more countries coming on board… That’s really exciting for me.”
And new discoveries are constantly fueling her mission. “There’s a professor… John Streicher… [doing] research on terpenes’ effects on their own, and then in conjunction with cannabinoids…. It’s proving that terpenes do have an effect on the body all on their own. It proves the entourage effect… and it’s just really cool to see the data.”
In an industry that’s growing faster than its standards, True Terpenes is proving that safety can scale. With Dr. Shawna Vreeke guiding the science and global markets opening up, this is what leadership looks like: clear, clean, and built to last.
To learn more, visit trueterpenes.com
