Cannabis Wire reports….
California’s cannabis industry will soon become very familiar with the term “OCal.” This will be the state’s version of the National Organic Program, which creates and enforces the rules and “uniform national standards” for any agricultural product grown for sale in the U.S. Official organic status is unavailable to the cannabis industry as it is a federal designation, and cannabis is illegal under federal law. But as organic practices in the United States become more common, many California cannabis producers and consumers want the option of organic cannabis.
So, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is in the process of building OCal, a “comparable-to-organic cannabis” program, and this week held their fifth and final working group meeting in Sacramento, California. The state’s OCal program will launch January 1, 2021, and will be available only to state cannabis license holders.
As part of the learning process ahead of the OCal program launch, CDFA visited more than 50 cannabis farms, met with other regulators in the state, and shadowed people conducting organic inspections. The Department also attended a number of conferences, including the California Certified Organic Farmers annual conference, the EcoFarm Conference, and California Organic Products Advisory Committee meetings.
At previous working group meetings, stakeholders asked a number of questions, like: what will the specific labeling requirements be, for example, for sun-grown or soil-less plants? CDFA’s answer: “Same” as the National Organic Program.
And what about farmers just starting out, without access to organic seeds or clones? The draft regs, as of November 4, read: “If organic seed or clone is not commercially available, a grower may purchase seed or clone from a non-organic source as long as it’s not treated with a prohibited substance.”
While the rules for the program are far from finalized, there are strong hints at what California’s cannabis industry can expect, based on how closely this program will mirror existing organic regulations. The major points will be similar, and will almost certainly cover, for example, areas like co-mingling of crops and contamination, and pest, weed, and disease management plans.
Cannabis cultivators meeting existing license requirements have a jumpstart on these regs, and will simply have to “enhance those practices,” saud Javed Iqbal, an environmental scientist with CDFA, during Monday’s meeting.
Read the full article: https://cannabiswire.com/2019/11/06/california-prepares-to-launch-countrys-first-organic-cannabis-program/
Learn more about the program by clicking on the image
Public Meetings
- CalCannabis Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Working Group Meeting November 4, 2019, Notice and Agenda | Minutes of the July 24, 2019, Meeting
- CalCannabis Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Working Group Meeting July 24, 2019, Notice and Agenda | Minutes of the July 24, 2019, Meeting
- CalCannabis Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Working Group Meeting June 25, 2019, Notice and Agenda
- CalCannabis Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Working Group Meeting May 15, 2019, Notice and Agenda
- CalCannabis Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Working Group Meeting February 12, 2019, Notice and Agenda
Resources From the USDA National Organic Program
The California Department of Food and Agriculture’s OCal Comparable-to-Organic Cannabis Program will be comparable to the National Organic Program (NOP). The following NOP resources may be helpful to those who want to learn more about the program.
- Organic Certification Made Simple (video series)
- “The Road to Organic Certification” (video)
- What Is Organic Certification?
Tip Sheets
References and Resources
- National Center for Appropriate Technology’s National Sustainable Agriculture Information Service (also known as ATTRA): Organic Farming
- National List of Allowed and Prohibited Substances
- National Organic Program Handbook
This compilation of guidance documents, policy memos, and instructions is intended to clarify policies, and assist those who own, manage, or certify organic operations with complying with National Organic Program regulations. - National Organic Program Regulations (Electronic Code of Federal Regulations)
7 Code of Federal Regulations Part 205 includes all USDA organic standards, including prohibited practices and requirements