A Canadian greenhouse company is hoping to create a standard for growers with the formation of a new division to guide government policy on cultivation.
Ontario based GGS Structures is hoping their new government standards division will help create strict standards for industrial growers in the country, as recreational cannabis is legalized and regulated.
GGS Structures president Leigh Coulter said other areas that have recently legalized cannabis, like Colorado, have experienced issues around cultivation, such as pesticide use, exposing gaps in regulations that the company hopes to close.
“As more countries around the world move towards developing a legal, regulated, cannabis industry, there is a clear and present need for knowledgable assistance in understanding how to build quality control at every stage of plant growth,” said Coulter.
The cannabis industry currently has no set standard for growth or greenhouse production, said sales manager Michael Camplin.
“A good part of our success comes down to understanding that there is no ‘one’ cannabis greenhouse, just like there is no ‘one’ solution for growing poinsettias,” said Camplin. “Greenhouses in California are different than greenhouses in Jamaica, are different than what we build in Canada or Colorado, or Australia.”
The company’s government standards division head Gerald Harrison said GGS aims to bring together the health, industry and agriculture ministries in Canada to develop for their needs for quality control, accountability and flexibility in growing methods.
“With clear guidelines for pesticide free, consistent quality under various different growing methods, I envision a future ‘world standard of medical cannabis’ that will allow cross border transportation of cannabis medicine around the globe. Clearly countries and states that do it right from the start will have an advantage on the world market,” said Harrison.