Branching Out

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"We can use their certifications ["Clean Green", instead of certification by the U.S.Department of Agriculture] to identify brands that have jumped through significant hoops in order to market themselves as 'Clean Green Certified'."

Cooper Ashley, data analyst, Headset, cannabis data provider 

Consumers interested in organic products from clothing to fruits and vegetables may soon be searching out cannabis growers who bring to market certified organic cannabis. The market for organic weed is certainly there, just as consumers search out organic coffee and strawberries and organic fibre clothing.

Coming to a market near you ... wait for it!

"We believe that in five years everything is going to trend toward organic", Boreal Uruguay Chairman Gonzalo Aguiar said with assurance. One of Latin America's largest cannabis drying facilities was recently opened by his company. In Europe, organic hemp flowers rich in CBD fetch $600,000 to $800.000 per metric ton, representing a 30 percent premium over regular flowers. The hitch? Every step, from seed, through to the drying process must be documented.

There is a scarcity of data for organic marijuana on the market, yet overall demand for cannabis is expected to surge around the middle of the next decade as more countries see fit to loosen drug laws. Industry research firm BDSA visualizes global legal cannabis sales tripling and then some, from last year to $46.6 billion come 2025.

Specialists like Argentina-based Organizacion Internacional Agropecuaria SA will offer certification to cannabis producers in Uruguay and the Uruguayan seed agency Inase plans as well to offer organic certification around the first half of 2021. The hurdle is seen in the United States where products can be marketed 'organic' only once they are certified by the Department of Agriculture and this will not happen while cannabis remains illegal at the federal level.

 

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A third-party organization called "Clean Green" offers its own certification, similar to the organic quality recognized by the USDA. A not-for-profit cannabis producer, Brother David's, is attempting to bridge the certification gap faced by cannabis in the U.S. David Bronner, head of Dr.Bronner's Magic Soaps plans to launch a special cannabis-scented soap in hopes of expanding a certification program toward a nation-wide standard.

Sun + Earth Certified plans to verify cannabis products are pesticide-free, adhering to labour and environmental standards similar to how the USDA grades food. "It's a way of giving small-scale farmers more power", explained the head of Dr.Bronner's. 

Uruguay, one of the world's most established cannabis export markets, sees local grower Colfores planning to obtain organic certification from Inase for its CBD-rich hemp, expecting to sell it next year to medical cannabis producers in Canada, Germany, Israel and Switzerland, according to Veronica Quintela, Colfores' chief executive.

 

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