The Denver Bud Company expects to have their first product certified by the Organic Cannabis Association within the next few months, according to a Modern Farmer report. However, the product can be called neither “organic” nor USDA-certified due to federal cannabis prohibition.
The $5,000 certification process requires up to four inspections with samples collected during each round. The certification comes with a pesticide-free label and lasts one year, with random site inspections throughout to ensure the company is maintaining best practices. The OCA process is designed to be even more rigorous than the USDA organic certification process.
“Based on what we heard today, it sounds like there may be some small adjustments [the inspector] will recommend,” Ben Gelt, OCA co-founder, said in the report.
Josh Egle, Denver Bud Company founder, believes the process will pay for itself once the product is brought to market. He grew pesticide-free cannabis for his mother to treat her multiple sclerosis before he even entered the formal industry.
“We got into this business to be the good guys,” he said. “It’s important to me that the product we put out is helping people instead of hurting people.”
The OCA says that “dozens” more Colorado growers are seeking approval from the body, and hundreds more have inquired about the process. The association hopes to certify five more growers by the end of the year.