Washington: Department of Agriculture Proposal To Hire “Cannabis Coordinator”

13 October 2016

Capital Press reported yesterday.

Looks like a bit of inter departmental politics may come into play although here at CLR we believe that giving a larger role to agricultural experts makes a lot of sense.

Here’s what’s being reported….

The coordinator’s duties could include overseeing a new program to certify organically grown marijuana, for the health conscious pot buyer.

“There seems to be consumer interest in that,” WSDA spokesman Hector Castro said. “We have done this for other commodities, obviously.”

Since Washington voters legalized recreational pot in 2012, the state Liquor and Cannabis Board has been the lead regulatory agency.

The cannabis board has been contracting with WSDA to test marijuana for pesticide residue and inspect the packaging of edible pot products.

At the request of the cannabis board, WSDA has submitted a two-year budget proposal to Gov. Jay Inslee that would formally assign those programs to the agriculture department.

The tests, inspections and investigations would be paid for by marijuana taxes and not cut into other programs, according to WSDA.

The department says it needs to be involved in regulating marijuana to protect residents from unhealthful levels of pesticides, along with ensuring consumers are getting the potency advertised and aren’t hoodwinked by phony organic claims.

“All of this is new — the pieces of the support structure for the industry are coming together,” Castro said.

Marijuana sales in Washington reached nearly $1 billion in the fiscal year that ended June 30.

Sales are on pace to smash that mark. As of early October, pot wholesale and retail sales since July 1 totaled $408 million, a cannabis board spokesman said.

By comparison, Washington’s 2014 wheat crop, the state’s third most-valuable farm product, was worth $714 million, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The state’s apple crop was valued at $1.89 billion and the milk production for the year totaled $1.6 billion, according to USDA.

WSDA will need legislative approval for a self-supporting organic marijuana certification program.

Certified marijuana, however, couldn’t be labeled “organic” and would need an “alternative marketing term,” according to WSDA.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture sets organic-labeling rules, but marijuana is illegal under federal law. Labeling marijuana as “organic” would be impermissible and misleading, according to WSDA.

Nevertheless, the process for being certified would be similar. WSDA’s currently certifies about 1,100 operations as organic.

The department estimated the certification fee for marijuana would be $1,800 per operation and would be a “guarantee of integrity.”

“Organic-style production practices are one way that operations could set their product apart and meet consumer demand,” according to WSDA’s written budget proposal.

“With the incorporation of the Washington state medical marijuana system into the existing recreational system, consumer demand for products that they perceive to be healthier is likely to grow.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention still posts a 1982 warning by the U.S. Surgeon General that marijuana impairs memory, learning and lung function.

The cannabis coordinator, if approved by the governor’s office, also would be involved in a new hemp-farming program WSDA will develop.

Legislators this year approved letting WSDA license hemp growers. Although hemp, like marijuana, is a federally controlled substance, states are allowed to oversee research into hemp cultivation.

http://www.capitalpress.com/Organic/20161012/wsda-proposes-organic-marijuana-certification

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