From the Bangor Daily News

Six years after the creation of the Maine Organic Farmers and Gardeners Association’s Certified Clean Cannabis program to certify synthetic chemical-free cannabis growers, Maine cannabis farmers say their product is healthier and less susceptible to disease.

But the program has been slow to catch on — so far, only 20 growers have been certified out of nearly 700 providers in the state.

Chris Grigsby, director of MOFGA Certification Services LLC, said that the Certified Clean Cannabis program mirrors the national organic certification program available to other growers. That program isn’t available to cannabis growers because of the continued federal prohibition on THC cannabis.

Although it was something that growers wanted, the process of becoming — and staying — a MOFGA Certified Clean Cannabis producer is rigorous, and the organization continues to struggle with outreach and consumer demand.

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The future of clean cannabis

Though it is getting easier in Maine to receive recognition for clean growing practices, regulatory hurdles still remain.

For example, recreational adult-use cannabis has mandatory testing written into the law, whereas medical cannabis does not. Sweet Dirt only received MOFGA certification for its adult-use cannabis products in 2021 — and are still the only producer to have done so — because strict testing requirements at the state level for recreational marijuana that are not required for medical marijuana make it difficult to achieve.

Read the entire Bangor Daily News article here.