California Medical Cannabis Compliance Lawyer Helps Local Governments Tackle Third-Party Certification Question

Crescent City, CA (PRWEB) August 02, 2011

California cities and counties are struggling with many questions about how to ensure that local medical marijuana growers and dispensaries are operating in accordance with state and local laws. The need for a neutral party who can assess compliance is clear, but what qualifications should third-party inspectors have? Various government bodies, including the Los Angeles City Council and Humboldt County planning committees, have turned to California medical cannabis compliance lawyer Chris Van Hook for answers. Van Hook, an attorney well-versed in medical marijuana law and the founder of the Clean Green Certified inspection program, created an outline of the minimum requirements that an accreditation program should have.

"Why is a certification program necessary? Because a well run third party certification program is the best way to assure that the medical cannabis distributed within a jurisdiction is grown legally, using safe inputs and methods, and so the cannabis can be tracked from seed continuously through to the final patient," explained Van Hook.

He urged all municipalities considering the implementation of a third-party California medical marijuana inspection program to require of potential inspectors, at a minimum, the following:

a) The California medical cannabis certification company inspectors should have the same educational requirements as county agricultural inspectors and USDA National Organic Program inspectors; a (4) year degree in agriculture or a related subject and (5) years in a related business/experience.
b) The certification company should have the ability to administer and operate an agricultural / processed food program roughly equivalent to the USDA National Organic Program or an equivalent program.
1) Inspectors should be separate from individuals making the final compliance determination.
2) There should be staff with the ability to conduct input reviews similar to OMRI, or the National Organic Program input reviews. This generally requires a master's degree in agriculture or related subject.
3) The company should have proven experience, education and training in processing and handling protocols and the capability to conduct audits and "mock recalls" on-site during on-site inspections at the dispensary locations.
c) The inspectors and certification staff should be under the direct control of an attorney licensed in California, and with experience in operating third-party programs and medical cannabis compliance.

"This is relevant as this entire medical cannabis program is a dance between federal law, state law, and city ordinances," Van Hook explains. "By requiring the certification program be under the direct control of a licensed California attorney we are now easily identifying who will be legally responsible for the operation of the program." Van Hook explains that this requirement would weed out the companies without a solid knowledge of case-law information, and help prevent the spread of misinformation.